Kerckhoff Dam
Kerckhoff Dam
Kerckhoff Dam is a concrete arch dam on the San Joaquin River in Fresno County, California, about 10 miles southwest of Big Creek. The 114-foot-tall dam creates Kerckhoff Reservoir, which can hold about 4,252 acre-feet of water. It is a run-of-the-river dam and the main feature of Pacific Gas and Electric’s Kerckhoff hydroelectric project.
Water from the reservoir powers two powerhouses. Powerhouse No. 1 has three Francis turbines for a total of about 38 MW. Powerhouse No. 2 has a single 155 MW turbine. The whole project has a capacity of 193 MW and generates roughly 579 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
Construction and history: Kerckhoff Dam was completed in 1920, and Powerhouse No. 1 was the first to use the San Joaquin River for hydroelectric power. Powerhouse No. 2 was added in 1983. The dam is named after William George Kerckhoff and was part of the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, the largest construction project in the world in 1910.
Key specs: Height 114 feet, length 495 feet, crest elevation about 994.5 feet. Dam volume about 22,000 cubic yards. Catchment area around 1,460 square miles.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:51 (CET).