CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME GIS METADATA
Lakes GeoWaterBodies of California
COVERAGE NAME: g_lakes.shp
METADATA FILE: g_lakes.txt
METADATA DATE: April 27, 1998
COVERAGE DESCRIPTION
The 'lakes geowaterbody' layer is a user created layer of lake polygons.
This layer is a subset of the 'Lakes' layer desrcibed below. The lake
polygons in this layer are created by the user selecting lakes from the 'Lakes'
layer as needed for their assessment cycle.
Lakes is a polygon coverage of several thousand California lakes and
standing waters. The polygons represent lake shorelines, and the
polygon attributes include lake names and codes relating to a historical
database of water quality and fisheries management information.
The coverage linework was prepared by the California Department of Fish
and Game (DFG) Inland Fisheries Division (IFD) by extracting standing-water
polygons from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 1:100,000-scale Digital Line
Graph data (DLG-3; MINOR1 = 421 or 101: lake, pond, or reservoir).
Polygon attributes were re-classified to separate actual standing waters,
dry lakes, and islands within lakes. USGS Geographic Names Information
System (GNIS) data were used to populate the name and code fields of the
polygon attributes. Approximately 400 additional polygons were digitized
by IFD from USGS 7.5'-series quads to match GNIS points that had no
corresponding polygons in the DLG-3 data.
The related INFO database, lakes.dat, is a product of a joint California
State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and DFG project called
"Lakes of California, an electronically processed file" (SWRCB 1978).
The coverage polygon attribute table contains a key relating
to lakes.dat, WRCBLAKES. Lake polygon and attribute data integration
is discussed in the methodology section below.
The intended uses of this coverage include digital cartography and
environmental assessment and management of lakes.
Data use is unrestricted.
-----
citation 1:
Barrett, J.G. and A.J. Cordone. 1980. The Lakes of California.
State of California Department of Fish and Game, Inland Fisheries
Division Administrative Report No. 80-5. Sacramento. 10 pp.;
Abstract, summary statistics, data dictionary.
[complete text with insertions appended below]
citation 2:
Barrett, J.G. 1978. Lakes of California, an electronically processed
file. California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Planning
and Research, Surveillance and Monitoring Section. Sacramento. February
1978. 121 pp. [hardcopy on file in SWRCB Headquarters library]
-----
VITAL STATISTICS
Standard Teale Parameters
Datum: NAD 27
Projection: Albers (Teale)
Units: Meters
1st Std. Parallel: 34 00 00
2nd Std. Parallel: 40 30 00
Longitude of Origin: -120 00 00
Latitude of Origin: 00 00 00
False Easting (X shift): 0
False Northing (Y shift): -4,000,000
Sources: USGS DLG-3; GNIS; SWRCB Lakes; USGS 7.5' quads
Source Media: digital data; published hardcopy maps
Source Projection: Albers; databases: geographic coordinates
Source Units: various
Source Scales: 1:100,000 and 1:24,000
Capture Methods: manual digitizing, ARC/INFO identity overlays
Conversion Software: ARC/INFO rev. 7.0.3 and previous
Data Structure: Vector
ARC/INFO Coverage Type: Polygon
ARC/INFO Precision: Single
ARCS: 10709
POLYGONS: 10229
NODES: 10681
Tics: 3701
Arc Segments: 341652
Polygon Labels: 10228
Polygon Attribute Bytes: 88
ARC/INFO Tolerances: Fuzzy=1.000 V; Dangle=0.100 V
Layer Size: 19.87 megabytes, as uncompressed export (e00)
Data Updated: May 1997
Note: This coverage is created by the user selecting appropriate lakes in the lakes coverage
as needed for their assessment cycle.
-----
DATA DICTIONARY
Structure of Table G_LAKES.DBF
COL ITEM NAME WIDTH TYPE N.DEC DESCRIPTION
1 AREA 18 F 5 Polygon area in square meters
9 PERIMETER 18 F 5 Polygon perimeter in meters
17 LAKES# 4 B - ARC/INFO use
21 LAKES-ID 4 B - ARC/INFO use
25 WATER 1 C - Water status in lake
26 NAME 47 C - Lake name
73 WRCBLAKES 4 B - Foreign key to lakes.dat
77 GNIS_ID 20 C - GNIS name code
****these items were added to the original dataset*******
88 lfdkey 11 D - Unique indentifier number
113 Wbid 25 C - WaterBody Indentifier number
173 Wbname 60 C - User assigned waterbody name
-----
DETAILED ITEM DESCRIPTIONS:
Item WATER
Code Meaning
Y = lake with standing water
N = dry lake
I = island within lake
__
Item NAME
Most of the lake names in this field have GNIS as their source. If
the GNIS_ID is null and the lake name field is populated, then the
lake name source is lakes.dat (SWRCB/DFG related database).
__
Item WRCBLAKES
Foreign key (relate item) from lakes.pat to INFO database lakes.dat,
containing information on water quality and fisheries management.
Lakes.dat described below.
__
Item GNIS_ID
USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) code uniquely identifying
the instance of the given lake name. This code is particularly useful
for common lake names such as 'Bear Lake', 'Cold Lake', etc...
-----
COVERAGE PROCESSING METHODOLOGY
The NAME and WRCBNAME lake attributes were produced by integrating the
lakes polygon coverage with two separate point coverages:
1) USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) names.
DFG generated a point coverage from latitude and longitude coordinates
contained within GNIS records.
2) "lakes.dat" lake names and attributes.
DFG generated a point coverage by parsing the original character strings
for lat/long into their component degrees, minutes, seconds.
Each point coverage was overlaid with the lakes polygon coverage.
In the first overlay process, the GNIS lake name was transferred from
each GNIS point to its enclosing lake polygon. In the second overlay
process, the record number of the point from lakes.dat was transferred
to the lake polygon attribute table, making it possible to link (relate)
that polygon to a record in the lakes.dat database. Lakes.dat itself
was not altered nor permanently joined to lakes.pat.
Points that failed to produce an exact match during the lake polygon
overlays were individually reviewed. Published USGS hardcopy maps and
gazetteers (DeLorme) were used to manually encode correct lake names in
cases where points and polygons existed, but did not properly coincide.
New lake polygons were digitized where no DLG-3 polygons existed to
enclose GNIS points.
An ARC/INFO relate environment can be set up between lakes.pat and
lakes.dat on the item WRCBLAKES to match selected lake polygons to
lake attribute data. ARCVIEW users can use LINK or JOIN procedures
to get similar results.
-----
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED INFO DATABASE LAKES.DAT
ABSTRACT
Geographical and environmental data for the lakes and reservoirs of
California are contained in the Lakes of California File developed by
the State Water Resources Board and the Department of Fish and Game
under Interagency Agreement 4090400. These waters total about 4,900
with a surface area of about 1,400,000 acres. Totals for lakes and
surface area supporting fishlife approximate 4,700 and 1,200,000 acres,
respectively. This database was prepared in response to Section 314
of the federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 (PL 92-500), whereby
the SWRCB implemented a program to identify, describe, and classify
according to trophic status the freshwater lakes and reservoirs
statewide. This report briefly describes the File and some of the
data and defines the terms used in the tables.
See also comprehensive program document on file with State Water
Resources Control Board (citation 2, above). The full text of
citation 1 is included below.
Contacts and specializations:
Paul Veisze
DFG/TSB GIS Unit, 916-323-1667, data coordination, documentation
Mike Byrne
DFG/TSB GIS Unit, 916-654-7631, ARC/INFO programming, data integration
Isaac Oshima
DFG/TSB GIS Unit, 916-752-0532, GIS applications, Avenue programming
Suzanne Lowell
SWRCB, 916-657-1830, SAS access at CA Teale Data Center mainframe
Bernice Hammer
DFG/TSB Biometrics, 415-688-6345, SAS - .dbf conversion
-----
[NOTE: The listing below was provided upon request by DFG from
SWRCB. Fields are in sequential order; the actual INFO table, lakes.dat,
has been slightly modified by DFG to accomodate data conversion from SAS
to ARC/INFO. This listing is presented to preserve original field
descriptions generated by SWRCB. There are minor discrepencies between
this listing and that in the SWRCB (1978) document "Lakes of California".]
[begin SAS database structure listing]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The SAS System 09:44 Monday, February 27, 1995 1
[NOTE: original database published in 1978; present database is a
SAS re-creation by DFG, then converted to an INFO database (ARC/INFO)]
CONTENTS PROCEDURE
Data Set Name: G.GIS (LAKES) Observations: 4955
Member Type: DATA Variables: 78
Engine: V608 Indexes: 0
Created: 13:05 Tuesday, February 14, 1995 Observation Length: 944
Last Modified: 12:41 Wednesday, February 22, 1995 Deleted Observations: 0
(SAS file converted to .dbf)
Protection: Compressed: NO
Data Set Type: Sorted: NO
Label:
----Engine/Host Dependent Information-----
Data Set Page Size: 16384
Number of Data Set Pages: 293
File Format: 607
First Data Page: 1
Max Obs per Page: 17
Obs in First Data Page: 6
-----List of Variables and Attributes-----
[NOTE: Field numbers are local to this listing. This listing is a subset
of the original database published in "Lakes of California" (SWRCB 1978).
Field numbers shown below do not match those in the original publication.]
Fields indicated as 'Num 8' were converted to 16-place integers in INFO;
Character fields were unchanged.
Field
# Variable Type Len Pos Label
---------------------------------------------------------------------
1 F_G_CD Char 1 0 *FISH & GAME*[Region] CODE
2 OWNER Char 34 1 *OWNER *NAME
3 OWNRTYPE Char 3 35 *OWNER*TYPE
4 REC_NUM Char 40 38 *REC*NUMBER
5 MAX_AREA Num 8 78 *MAXIMUM AREA*(ACRES)
6 MXAREF Char 7 86 *MAX AREA*REF
7 SUM_SURF Num 8 93 *SUMMER SURFACE*AREA (ACRES)
8 S_S_REF Char 7 101 *SUMMER SURFACE*REF
9 MAXDEPTH Num 8 108 *MAXIMUM*DEPTH (FEET)
10 M_D_REF Char 7 116 *MAX DEPTH*REF
11 AB_G_F1 Char 20 123 *MOST ABUNDANT*GAME FISH
12 AB_G_F2 Char 20 143 *2ND MOST ABUNDANT*GAME FISH
13 AB_G_F3 Char 20 163 *3RD MOST ABUNDANT*GAME FISH
14 OTH_NAM Char 25 183 *OTHER*LAKE NAME
15 DEP_FL Num 8 208 *DEPTH (FT)*FLUCTUATION
16 DP_F_REF Char 7 216 *DEPTH*FLUCTUATION REF
17 MIN_SURF Num 8 223 *MINIMUM*SURFACE (ACRES)
18 M_S_REF Char 7 231 *MINIMUM*SURFACE REF
19 PRI_PROD Num 8 238 *PRIMARY*PRODUCTIVITY
20 L_Q_REF Char 7 246 *LAKE*QUALITY REF
21 DAM Num 8 253 *DAM*NUMBER
22 D_NAME Char 25 261 *DAM*NAME
23 LATITUDE Char 9 286 *LATITUDE*
24 LONGITUD Char 10 295 *LONGITUDE*
25 TOWNSHIP Char 13 305 *TOWNSHIP*RANGE/SECTION
26 OPERATOR Char 25 318 *OPERATOR*
27 INFLOW1 Char 15 343 *PRINCIPAL*INFLOW
28 INFLOW2 Char 15 358 *SECONDARY*INFLOW
29 INFLOW3 Char 15 373 *THIRD*INFLOW
30 MAX_VOL Num 8 388 *MAXIMUM VOL*(ACRE FEET)
31 M_V_REF Char 7 396 *MAXIMUM*VOLUME REF
32 MIN_VOL Num 8 403 *MINIMUM VOL*(ACRE FEET)
33 AV_DPTH Num 8 411 *AVERAGE*DEPTH (FT)
34 A_D_REF Char 7 419 *AVERAGE*DEPTH REF
35 N_G_FSH1 Char 20 426 *NONGAME*FISH #1
36 N_G_FSH2 Char 20 446 *NONGAME*FISH #2
37 N_G_FSH3 Char 20 466 *NONGAME*FISH #3
38 FISH_YLD Num 8 486 *FISH YIELD*(LBS/ACRE)
39 F_Y_REF Char 7 494 *FISH*YIELD REF
40 FSH_CROP Num 8 501 *FISH CROP*(LBS/ACRE/YR)
41 F_C_REF Char 7 509 *FISH CROP*REF
42 EUPHOT Char 4 516 *DEPTH OF*EUPHOTIC ZONE (FT)
43 E_Z_REF Char 7 520 *EUPHOTIC*ZONE REF
44 THERMO Num 8 527 *DEPTH(FT) TO*THERMOCLINE
45 COUNTY Char 40 535 *COUNTY*NAME
46 QUAD Char 12 575 *QUADRANT
47 OUTFLOW Char 15 587 *OUTFLOW*
48 DRN_AREA Num 8 602 *DRAINAGE*AREA (SQ MILES)
49 D_A_REF Char 7 610 *DRAINAGE*AREA REF
50 ELEVAT Num 8 617 *ELEVATION*(FEET)
51 ELE_REF Char 7 625 *ELEVATION*REF
52 T_S_REF Char 7 632 *TROPHIC*STATE REF
53 DOM_FSH1 Char 20 639 *DOMINANT*SPORTFISH #1
54 DOM_FSH2 Char 20 659 *DOMINANT*SPORTFISH #2
55 DOM_FSH3 Char 20 679 *DOMINANT*SPORTFISH #3
56 D_F_REF Char 7 699 *DOMINANT*FISH REF
57 NUISANCE Char 24 706 *NATURE OF*NUISANCE PROB.
58 N_REF Char 7 730 *NUISANCE*REF
59 IMP_WTR Num 8 737 *% OF IMPORTED*WATER
60 I_W_REF Char 7 745 *IMPORTED*WATER REF
61 LKNAM_FM Char 25 752 *LAKE*NAME
62 LAK_NM_F Num 8 777 *LAKE*NUMBER
63 ACC_FMT Char 9 785 *ACCESS*CODE
64 LAK_FMT Char 11 794 *LAKE OR*RESERVOIR
65 ACCR_FM Char 8 805 *ACCURACY*CODE
66 CAL_FM Char 10 813 *DEPTH CALC*METHOD
67 TRO_FM Char 12 823 *TROPHIC*STATE
68 FISH_FM Char 13 835 *FISHERY*PRODUCTION
69 FSHRY_FM Char 7 848 *FISHERY*TYPE
70 F_PLT_FM Char 8 855 *FISH PLANTING*PROGRAM
71 SIGN_FM Char 3 863 *SIGNIFICANT*LAKE?
72 STRAT_FM Char 3 866 *DOES LAKE*STRATIFY
73 OFLO_FM Char 3 869 *OUTFLOW*REGULATED
74 N_PK_FM Char 19 872 *NATIONAL PARK*NUMBER
75 N_F_FM Char 14 891 *NATIONAL FOREST*NUMBER
76 W_P_FM Char 19 905 *WILD/PRIMITIVE*AREA NUM
77 DWR_FM Char 16 924 *DWR*CODE
78 LAK_Q_FM Char 4 940 *LAKE*QUALITY
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[end SAS database structure listing.]
[NOTE: DFG/IFD added the following fields to the INFO version of above
database. WRCBLAKES relates to lakes.pat; the geographic coordinates
fields break up the original lat/long character fields into more useable
numeric fields; and LAKES is a user flag]:
xx WRCBLAKES Num 4 xxx -ALTERNATE PRIMARY KEY
xx LATD Num 2 xxx -LATITUDE DEGREES
xx LATM Num 2 xxx -LATITUDE MINUTES
xx LATS Num 4.1 xxx -LATITUDE SECONDS AND TENTHS
xx LOND Num 3 xxx -LONGITUDE DEGREES
xx LONM Num 2 xxx -LONGITUDE MINUTES
xx LONS Num 4.1 xxx -LONGITUDE SECONDS AND TENTHS
xx LAKES Num 1 xxx -USER FLAG
-----
[The following text is from a scan and optical character recognition of
CA Dept. Fish and Game Inland Fisheries Division Administrative Report 80-5;
edited 5-19-97; it contains sections for an Abstract, Methodology, Data
Dictionary and a data summary table. The Data Dictionary contained in
the 'DEFINITIONS' section below includes insertions dated 5/19/97,
copying field dimensions and descriptions from the above listing.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
State of California
The Resources Agency
DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
THE LAKES OF CALIFORNIA
by
John G. Barrett
State Water Resources Control Board
and
Almo J. Cordone
Inland Fisheries Branch
Inland Fisheries
Administrative Report No. 80-5
May 1980
-----
THE LAKES OF CALIFORNIA-1/
by
John G. Barrett-2/ and Almo J. Cordone-3/
Key geographical and environmental data for the lakes and
reservoirs of California are contained in the Lakes of California File
developed by the State Water Resources Control Board. These
waters total about 4,900 with a surface area of about 1,400,000
acres. Totals for those supporting fishlife approximate 4,700 waters
and 1,200,000 acres. Four printout tables containing data of
special interest to fisheries workers were retrieved from the File.
Because of the large number of lakes and reservoirs involved, they
were too voluminous to include with this report. Each regional
headquarters of the Department of Fish and Game has a copy of
the tables for lakes and reservoirs within its boundaries. These are
available for use and study by interested parties. This report briefly
describes the File and some of the data and defines the terms
used in the tables.
__________________________________________________________________
1-/Inland Fisheries Administrative Report No. 80-5.
Submitted January 1980.
2-/State Water Resources Control Board, Sacramento.
3-/Inland Fisheries Branch, Sacramento.
-----
INTRODUCTION
The State Water Resources Control Board has developed the Lakes of
California File, an electronically processed computer file containing
geographical and environmental data on California lakes and reservoirs.
Data stored in the File were gathered by the Department of Fish and Game
under contract with the Board and with primary supervision by the Board's
Surveillance and Monitoring Unit. The primary purpose of this program was
to summarize existing information on lakes and reservoirs so that statewide
priorities for additional data collection needs and possible restoration
activities could be established and carried out.
Four printout tables containing data of special interest to fisheries workers
were retrieved from the File. There are several reasons for preparing these
tables: i) the data will assist in answering inquiries from other agencies
and the public, ii) the data should prove useful for various local, regional,
or State planning efforts, and iii) the data in such readily available form
may stimulate more complex analyses including the development of a lake
classification system and assessing relationships between fish populations
and various environmental variables. The latter could have practical
management significance.
The purpose of this report is to alert fisheries workers to the existence
of the Lakes of California File and the four basic printout tables of
special interest to them. Detailed definitions of the terms used in the
tables are also included in this report.
-----
METHODS
Department personnel visited a number of State and federal agencies to
obtain data from their files. Published and unpublished reports were
perused as were maps of the U. S. Geological Survey, U. S. Forest Service,
U. S. Bureau of Land Management, and Department of Fish and Game.
Information for each lake was entered on three basic forms designed to meet
the needs of various State agencies. Full details of the program along with
directions for acquiring specific information are described by Barrett (Lakes
of California, an Electronically Processed File. 1978. State Water Resources
Control Bd., Div. of Planning and Research, Surveillance and Monitoring
Unit, 121 p.).
-----
LIMITATIONS
The Lakes of California File is the first attempt to compile, in a
computerized format, geographical and environmental data on individual
lakes and reservoirs for the entire State. The data were gleaned from widely
scattered sources and reflect varying degrees of accuracy and completeness.
We caution that the appearance of these data in printed form is no guarantee
of exactness. We urge that those familiar with these waters make an effort
to correct mistakes and fill in the blanks. The listings of fishes are
especially weak and will vary with time. The question of how to deal with
the numerous unnamed lakes remains unsolved. Future revisions can be
expected and your help will ensure greater accuracy and hence greater value
of the File.
-----
RESULTS
Because of the large number of lakes and reservoirs involved, the four
printout tables were too voluminous to include with this report. However,
each regional headquarters of the Department of Fish and Game has a copy of
the tables for waters within its boundaries. These are available for use
and study by interested parties. The definitions included in the following
section are to be used in conjunction with the printout. Only a summary of
the number and surface area of lakes and reservoirs is presented here
(Table 1).
As delimited by our definitions of lakes and reservoirs, California contains
4,922 such bodies of water with a surface area of 1,397,534 acres. These
consist of 3,648 lakes (812,828 acres) and 1,274 reservoirs (548,706 acres).
Most of the lakes :90%) support coldwater fisheries and most of the
reservoirs (47%) support warmwater fisheries. One hundred and ninety-one
lakes and reservoirs (211,056 acres) do not support fishlife.
The majority of the coldwater lake fisheries (57%) are located in Region 4
and the bulk of the coldwater reservoir fisheries (42%) in Region 2. There
are relatively few warmwater lake fisheries in the State. Warmwater reservoir
fisheries are most numerous in Regions 3 and 5 (34 and 31%, respectively).
If Lake Tahoe is excluded, Region 2 ranks third behind Regions 1 and 4 in
surface area supporting coldwater lake fisheries. The highest acreage of
coldwater reservoir fisheries are found in both Regions 1 and 2 and Regions 4
and 5 contain the most acreage in warmwater reservoir fisheries.
-----
DEFINITIONS
[NOTE: The following field definitions have been inserted from the
above listing of the database structure of lakes.dat. They are not
part of the original document scan IFD AR 80-5. Not all variables
listed above are described below. See SWRCB (1978) and appendices
for complete data dictionary; corrections/revision by DFG are enclosed
in square braces]
[Decoding Reference Fields: Reference (REF) fields give information as to
the source of the data entered for variables such as lake depth, area,
fish species, etc. Each reference code is a 7-byte string]:
Byte(s) Element / Code Meanings
1 Accuracy statement [in order of increasing quality]:
O = Personal observation or opinion
E = Estimate based on some data
F = Fact based on acquired data
2,3 Date: the last two digits of the year the fact or estimate
was determined
4-7 Agency code of the source supplying the fact or estimate:
1 = State Water Resources Control Board
001 thru 009 = Region 1 thru 9 files
010 = Basin Plans
2 = Department of Fish and Game
001 thru 005 = Region 1 thru 5 files
3 = Department of Water Resources
001 = Northern District
002 = Central District
003 = San Joaquin District
004 = Southern District
005 = Division of Safety of Dams (DWR Bulletin 17)
4 = U.S. Geological Survey
000 = USGS quads
001 = USGS Open File Report "An Inventory of Lakes in CA"
5 = National Park Service (NPS), numbered in alphabetical order
6 = USDA Forest Service (USFS), numbered in alphabetical order
Example: M_D_REF (Maximum lake depth reference) =
E522002
E = Estimate
52 = 1952
2 = Dept. Fish and Game
002 = Region 2 files
-----
[Begin detailed field descriptions]
Field
# Variable Type Length Pos Label
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[NOTE: Field numbers are local to this document. These fields are a subset
of the original database published in "Lakes of California" (SWRCB 1978).
Field numbers shown match the above listing, not the original publication
nor the converted INFO database "lakes.dat".]
__
61 LKNAM_FM Char 25 752 *LAKE*NAME
Lake Name: The name of the lake as shown on current USGS topographic
maps or other official sources. When the lake name contains
the word "lake" or "reservoir" as a descriptor, as in Lake
Tahoe or Nacimiento Reservoir, these descriptors will not be
shown as part of the lake name.
__
62 LAK_NM_F Num 8 777 *LAKE*NUMBER
Lake Number: A unique number based on the State Water Resources Control Board
Hydrologic Unit in which the lake lies.
__
45 COUNTY Char 40 535 *COUNTY*NAME
County: The name of the county in which the lake lies.
__
64 LAK_FMT Char 11 794 *LAKE OR*RESERVOIR
Lake or Reservoir Code:
LAKE A body of naturally-impounded water not influenced by tidal
fluctuations. In addition, the water body must normally
maintain a pool throughout the year and must-have a maximum
surface area of at least 1 acre or support a self-sustaining
sport fishery.
RESERVOIR A man-made impoundment of water which increases the surface
area size of the existing lake (if any) by at least 100%.
In addition, the reservoir must retain at least 50 acre-ft
of water or have a dam at least 25 ft in height as specified
in Title 23 of the California Administrative Code,
Section 301(b). (See also CA Dept. Water Resources Bulletin
17: Dams within the jurisdiction of the State of California;
see also coverage damjur, metadata damjur.txt).
INFLUENCED A body of water that is sometimes influenced by the ocean
for short periods.
FLOOD_CNTRL The lake bed is normally dry, but periodically
retains water.
__
21 DAM Num 8 253 *DAM*NUMBER
22 D_NAME Char 25 261 *DAM*NAME
Dam Name: The official dam name and number as stated in the State of
California Department of Water Resources Bulletin 17-76,
"Dams within the Jurisdiction of the State of California".
__
23 LATITUDE Char 9 286 *LATITUDE*
24 LONGITUD Char 10 295 *LONGITUDE*
Latitude and Longitude: The approximate center of the lake is given in
degrees, minutes, and seconds for both latitude
(north) and longitude (west). [The DFG GIS Unit
has disaggregated these two fields 3 separate
degrees, minutes, seconds fields, each for LAT/LON]
__
25 TOWNSHIP Char 13 305 *TOWNSHIP*RANGE/SECTION
Township, Range, Section: Location of lake according to USGS quad map.
The letter following some section numbers
designates the 1/16 section starting with A in
the upper right and ending with R in the lower
right (I and O are not included). Each lake is
designated by the appropriate Base and Meridian;
H (Humboldt), M (Mount Diablo), S (San Bernardino).
__
27 INFLOW1 Char 15 343 *PRINCIPAL*INFLOW
28 INFLOW2 Char 15 358 *SECONDARY*INFLOW
29 INFLOW3 Char 15 373 *THIRD*INFLOW
Principal Inflow: The name of the major stream, creek, or river flowing
into the lake, in order of significance.
__
47 OUTFLOW Char 15 587 *OUTFLOW*
Principal Outflow: The name of the major stream, creek, or river flowing
out of the lake.
__
2 OWNER Char 34 1 *OWNER *NAME
Name of Owner: The name of the individual, company, or agency that owns
the lake or reservoir.
__
3 OWNRTYPE Char 3 35 *OWNER*TYPE
Type of Ownership: Type of ownership of the shoreline around the lake.
PUB - Public
PRV - Private
BPP - Both Public and Private
__
26 OPERATOR Char 25 318 *OPERATOR*
Name of Operator: The name of the company or agency that operates the lake
or reservoir. This applies only if the name of the owner
and operator are different.
__
75 N_F_FM Char 14 891 *NATIONAL FOREST*NUMBER[NAME]
National Forest: The name of the National Norest in which a lake or any part
of it lies. This also includes lakes totally on private
land, but within an inholding or within the forest's official
boundary as shown on USFS maps. The following forests are
recognized:
Angeles Mendocino
Cleveland Modoc
E1 Dorado Plumas
Inyo Rogue River
Klamath San Bernardino
Lassen Sequoia
Los Padres Shasta-Trinity
Sierra Stanislaus
Siskiyou Tahoe
Six Rivers Toiyabe
__
74 N_PK_FM Char 19 872 *NATIONAL PARK*NUMBER[NAME]
National Park: The unit of the National Park Service (NPS) in which a lake
or any part of it lies. This also includes lakes totally on
private land but within an inholding or within the official
unit boundary as shown on USFS, USGS, or NPS maps.
The following units of the NPS are recognized:
[Data available only for units marked *]
Cabrillo Lava Beds
Channel Islands Pinnacles
Death Valley Point Reyes
Devils Postpile Redwood
Golden Gate Shasta
Joshua Tree Trinity
*Kings Canyon *Whiskeytown
*Lassen Volcanic *Yosemite
*Sequoia
__
76 W_P_FM Char 19 905 *WILD/PRIMITIVE*AREA NUM[NAME]
Wilderness or Primitive Area: The officially designated USDA Forest Service
(USFS) wilderness or primitive area in which a
lake or any part of it lies. This also includes
lakes totally on private land but within an
inholding or within the area's boundary as
shown on USFS maps. The following wilderness or
primitive areas are recognized:
Agua Tibia Mokelumne
Caribou Salmon-Trinity Alps
Cucamonga San Gabriel
Desolation Valley San Gorgonio
Dome Land San Jacinto
Emigrant Basin San Rafael
Golden Trout Santa Lucia
Hoover South Warner
High Sierra Thousand Lakes
John Muir Ventana
Marble Mountains Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel
Minarets
__
5 MAX_AREA Num 8 78 *MAXIMUM AREA*(ACRES)
6 MXAREF Char 7 86 *MAX AREA*REF
Maximum Surface Area (acres): Maximum operational surface area of the
lake in acres. For natural lakes, this will
be the largest known surface area of the lake.
For lakes where the outflow of the lake is
regulated, this will be the maximum surface
area to the spillway. See also reference code
for source of data on maximum area, described
above.
__
7 SUM_SURF Num 8 93 *SUMMER SURFACE*AREA (ACRES)
8 S_S_REF Char 7 101 *SUMMER SURFACE*REF
Midsummer Surface Area (acres): The surface area of the lake that represents
the average surface area during the peak
recreation season. This is based on surface
area records of August 1. See also reference
code described above.
__
30 MAX_VOL Num 8 388 *MAXIMUM VOL*(ACRE FEET)
31 M_V_REF Char 7 396 *MAXIMUM*VOLUME REF
Maximum Volume (acre-ft): The maximum volume of the lake. Based on the same
criteria stated for maximum surface area. See
reference field described above.
__
9 MAXDEPTH Num 8 108 *MAXIMUM*DEPTH (FEET)
10 M_D_REF Char 7 116 *MAX DEPTH*REF
Maximum Depth (ft): Depth in feet from the maximum water surface level to
the deepest point in the lake. Reference field described
above.
__
33 AV_DPTH Num 8 411 *AVERAGE*DEPTH (FT)
34 A_D_REF Char 7 419 *AVERAGE*DEPTH REF
Average Depth (ft): The average depth of the lake during maximum storage.
This may be determined by fathometer readings,
planimetry of known contours, or by dividing the
maximum volume by the maximum surface area.
Reference field described above.
__
48 DRN_AREA Num 8 602 *DRAINAGE*AREA (SQ MILES)
49 D_A_REF Char 7 610 *DRAINAGE*AREA REF
Drainage Area (sq. miles): The drainage area includes all the land area that
can yield inflow to the lake plus the surface area
of the lake itself. Reference described above.
__
50 ELEVAT Num 8 617 *ELEVATION*(FEET)
51 ELE_REF Char 7 625 *ELEVATION*REF
Elevation (ft): The maximum water surface elevation of the lake in feet above
mean sea level as shown on USGS topographic maps.
Reference described above.
__
67 TRO_FM Char 12 823 *TROPHIC*STATE
52 T_S_REF Char 7 632 *TROPHIC*STATE REF
Trophic State:[Note: disjunct field positions]
Trophic State Lake Characteristics
------------- --------------------
Dystrophic Boggy
High in humic acids
Dark brown-colored water
Oligotrophic Generally supports coldwater fish
Very transparent water
Few littoral plants
Color - blue
Low concentrations of algae in water
Mesotrophic Medium levels of algal growth supported
Water of medium transparency
Some littoral plants
Eutrophic Generally supports warmwater fish
Water - turbid, low transparency
High concentrations of algae in water
Color - greenish
Dense growth of littoral plants
Intermittent Intermittent lake, periodically dries up
__
68 FISH_FM Char 13 835 *FISHERY*PRODUCTION
Estimated Fishery Production: The lake's fish production rating of high,
medium, or low. In this context, nonproductive
lakes are those which, for whatever reason,
do not support fishlife.
__
69 FSHRY_FM Char 7 848 *FISHERY*TYPE
Fishery Type: An assessment of the dominant type of sport fishery.
Type Fishery Characteristics
---- -----------------------
Warm Warmwater lakes are those in which the dominant
fishery is for warmwater fishes, and which do not
contain water suitable for trout the year around.
Cold Coldwater lakes are those in which the dominant
fishery is for salmonid fishes; does not include
warmwater lakes that are planted seasonally with
catchable trout.
Mixed Combination lakes which support populations of both
salmonid and warmwater fishes, and in which at least
5% of the water volume is suitable for trout
throughout the year. Suitable water is defined as
70 F or less with at least 5 ppm dissolved oxygen.
No fishery Lakes which do not support sport fishes the year
around, e.g., intermittent lakes, barren lakes,
winterkill lakes, Mono Lake.
__
70 F_PLT_FM Char 8 855 *FISH PLANTING*PROGRAM
Fish Planting Program:
Type Fish Planting Program Characteristics
---- -------------------------------------
None A lake whose fishery is sustained entirely by natural
propagation. Also included, however, are lakes
receiving an occasional plant to establish or
reestablish a game or forage fish species.
State A lake whose fishery is maintained or enhanced by
periodic plants of game fishes. The fish planted in
such lakes are those reared at either State or federal
hatcheries.
Private Same as "State" planted lakes above, except the fish
are reared at privately owned hatcheries. BothLakes
periodically planted with fish reared at both
privately-owned and State or federal hatcheries.
__
11 AB_G_F1 Char 20 123 *MOST ABUNDANT*GAME FISH
12 AB_G_F2 Char 20 143 *2ND MOST ABUNDANT*GAME FISH
13 AB_G_F3 Char 20 163 *3RD MOST ABUNDANT*GAME FISH
Most Abundant Game Fish: The four [3] most abundant species of game fish
which are actively sought by fishermen, listed in
descending order. This refers to their relative
abundance in the lake, not in the creel [angler
survey].
__
35 N_G_FSH1 Char 20 426 *NONGAME*FISH #1
36 N_G_FSH2 Char 20 446 *NONGAME*FISH #2
37 N_G_FSH3 Char 20 466 *NONGAME*FISH #3
Most Abundant Nongame Fish: The four [3] most abundant species of non-game
fish in the lake, listed in descending order.
__
53 DOM_FSH1 Char 20 639 *DOMINANT*SPORTFISH #1
54 DOM_FSH2 Char 20 659 *DOMINANT*SPORTFISH #2
55 DOM_FSH3 Char 20 679 *DOMINANT*SPORTFISH #3
Dominant Sport Fish: The four [3] species of game fish most numerous in the
sport take [creel, or angler survey], listed in
descending order.
-----
[end DEFINITIONS section, edited 5/19/97]
-----
SUMMARY STATISTICS
TABLE 1. Number of Surface Area of Lakes and Reservoirs in California.-1/
See footnotes below.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Total Reservoir
Number Number lakes and Lake area area Total area
Fishery type lakes reservoirs reservoirs (acres) (acres) (acres)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Coldwater 440 75 515 34,829.4 34,160.6 68,990.0
Mixed 52 65 117 2,974.5 74,252.0 77,226.5
Warmwater 15 63 78 145,832.3 17,868.0 163,770.3
No fishery 72 12 84 146,826.3 5,844.0 152,670.3
Region 1 totals-2/
579 215 794 330,462.5 132,124.6 462,587.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coldwater 417 127 544 129,358.0 34,816.4 164,174.4
Mixed 11 91 102 61.6 83,506.5 83,568.1
Warmwater 22 93 115 1,083.0 23,540.5 24,623.5
No fishery 23 6 29 130.4 386.0 516.4
Region 2 totals-3/
473 317 790 130,633.0 142,249.4 272,882.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coldwater 8 15 23 373.0 802.0 1,175.0
Mixed 12 67 79 271.0 35,961.0 36,232.0
Warmwater 42 203 245 44,423.2 32,143.5 76,566.7
No fishery 0 9 9 0.0 404.0 404.0
Region 3 totals-4/
62 294 356 45,067.2 69,310.5 114,377.7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coldwater 1,874 49 1,923 19,549.8 18,194.8 37,744.6
Mixed 15 38 53 84.0 46,874.0 46,958.0
Warmwater 12 56 68 656.7 70,990.4 71,647.1
No fishery 37 7 44 222.9 508.6 731.5
Region 4 totals-5/
1,938 150 2,088 20,513.4 136,567.8 157,081.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coldwater 530 37 567 6,668.4 14,628.0 21,296.4
Mixed 5 64 69 44.0 17,971.3 18,015.3
Warmwater 46 186 232 5,506.0 69,054.0 74,560.0
Salton Sea 1 - 1 220,000.0 - 220,000.0
No fishery 1411 - 25 53,933.5 2,800.0 56,733.5
Region 5 totals
596 298 894 286,151.9 104,453.3 390,605.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________________________________________
STATWIDE TOTALS
Total Reservoir
Number Number lakes and Lake area area Total area
Fishery type lakes reservoirs reservoirs (acres) (acres) (acres)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Coldwater 3,269 303 3,572 190,778.6 102,601.8 293,380.4
Mixed 95 325 420 3,435.1 258,564.8 261,999.9
Warmwater 137 601 738 197,501.2 213,596.4 411,097.6
Salton Sea 1 - 1 220,000.0 - 220,000.0
No fishery 146 45 191 201,113.1 9,942.6 211,055.7
Statewide total
3,648 1,274 4,922 812,828.0 548,705.6 1,397,533.6
_______________________________________________________________________________
Footnotes
-1/Those portions of lakes and reservoirs (Goose, Tahoe, Topaz, Havasu,
Imperial, and Laguna lakes) extending into adjacent states are included
in the California totals.
-2/All of Homer and Juniper lakes included in Region 1 totals.
-3/All of Black Butte and Utlca lakes included in Region 2 totals.
-4/All of Twitchell Lake included in Region 3 totals.
-5/All of Goodwin, Melones, and Tulloch lakes included in Region 4 totals.
===========================================================================
----- end scan/OCR of DFG/IFD AR 80-5; edited 5-19-97 ---
DATA QUALITY ASSESSMENT
The Lakes of California File is the first attempt to compile, in a
computerized format, geographical and environmental data on individual
lakes and reservoirs for the entire State. The data were gleaned from
widely scattered sources and reflect varying degrees of accuracy and
completeness. We (Barrett and Cordone 1980) caution that the appearance
of these data in printed form is no guarantee of exactness. We urge that
those familiar with these waters make an effort to correct mistakes and
fill in the blanks. The listings of fishes are especially weak and will
vary with time. The question of how to deal with the numerous unnamed
lakes remains unsolved. Future revisions can be expected and your help
will ensure greater accuracy and hence greater value of the File.
Line quality of the polygon coverage is good. Attribute completeness
of names and name codes is very good in the lakes.pat polygon attribute
table. While attribute completeness is only fair within the lakes.dat
INFO database, the wide array of attributes presents an excellent
structure for scientific and management analysis of lakes. Extensive
use of "reference" (REF) fields provides valuable metadata on the
sources and dates of data entries.
There are discrepencies between the field listing of lakes.dat and the
SWRCB (1978) document "Lakes of California", due to two reasons:
1) DFG added individual fields for latitude and longitude degrees,
minutes, and seconds, and 2) DFG received from SWRCB a database that
appears to be a subset of the original. In addition, the conversion
from the SWRCB SAS database format to DFG's INFO resulted in field type
changes from [Numeric 8] to [Integer 16], respectively. Null values in
the SAS numeric fields also appear to be corrupt in INFO, although actual
data values appear to be intact. Character strings were unaffected by the
database conversion.
Refer to the original document SWRCB (1978) for additional quality
assessment information.
-----
DATA CONTACT
Karen Beardsley (Information Center for the Environment)
(530) 752-0532