Dale Matson
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Looking At The Madera Side Of Millerton Lake
Many Fresnans probably don’t know that there is a half
million-acre feet reservoir less than a half hour from the center of Fresno.
Millerton Lake was created by damming the San Joaquin River as a means of flood
control and water containment for agriculture.
Millerton Lake is named after the town of Millerton, which
was the original county seat for a much larger Fresno County. Millerton was
situated along the San Joaquin River. After a flood, it never recovered and the
county seat was moved to Fresno.
Other than the courthouse, which was moved to higher ground, the town of
Millerton is now under Millerton Lake.
Clarence King was an early California state geologist and the
first head of the USGS. Two desperados, who saw him pocket a pouch with gold in
it, once chased him starting in the village of Visalia. He rode his fast steed
Kaweah to Millerton on his way to Mariposa and lost them on the way.
There is a large state recreation area on the north side in
Madera County and on the south side in Fresno County. The annual state park
pass fee is now over $100.00 but worth the money if you are at the park
regularly. There are various boat ramps available on both the Madera and Fresno
sides. It is a popular summer place for boating, water skiing and fishing.
There are also lots of picnic areas and an area for camping near the boat ramp
on the Madera side.
My friends and I swim there once a week from late spring to
early fall. I have also kayaked there and ran with friends for years on a trail
along the shore that leads to Winchell Cove. This trail has the typical
wilderness sightings of Bald Eagles, Hawks, Mountain Lions, Bobcats and
Rattlesnakes.
The lake is usually low this time of year in anticipation of
spring runoff. This year it is not painful to see the low lake level knowing
that we have lots of snow again in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which
translates to a good water year. At this point we only need two more inches of
rain in Fresno to equal our yearly average amount. China Peak, our local ski
resort near Huntington Lake has already received 255 inches of snowfall. Green
is not the usual color one sees around the lake. Rather it is a golden brown
most of the year.
These Photographs were taken with a Sony A7R2 with an Adapted Sony a-mount 70-400mm lens, a native Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f4 and a native Sony Zeiss 16-35mm f4
Trail To Winchell Cove
Shuteye Peak (8,358')
High Sierra Further East
Kaiser Peak (10,300')
Millerton Courthouse
Water Level Rings On Island
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