French is an instream dam and lake on Canyon Creek in the South Yuba watershed. The nearest city is Kingvale (9.18 miles).
The dam was constructed in 1859 and raised in 1948. Standing at 100 feet tall and 200 feet long, it is a concrete-faced rock fill dam with a capacity of 13,940 acre-feet. The typical low level is 7,000 acre-feet.
NID has pre-1914 water rights that allow for storage of 13,940 acre-feet.
The District maintains environmental flows to Canyon Creek currently required at 2.5 cubic feet per second. There is no power generation.
Recreation: French supports walk-in dispersed camping.
In the 1920s, NID Directors Robinson and Schwartz (right) survey French Dam and Lake.
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