Hidden Dam
title: "Hidden Dam" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dams-in-california", "reservoirs-in-madera-county,-california", "united-states-army-corps-of-engineers-dams", "buildings-and-structures-in-madera-county,-california", "earth-filled-dams", "dams-in-the-san-joaquin-river-basin", "reservoirs-in-california", "reservoirs-in-northern-california"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_Dam" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox body of water"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Hensley Lake & Hidden Dam |
| image | Hensley Lake to Madera, California - Aerial (49394374028) (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Aerial view of the lake |
| pushpin_map | California |
| location | Near Raymond, Madera County, California, United States |
| coords | |
| lake_type | Reservoir |
| inflow | Fresno River |
| outflow | Fresno River |
| basin_countries | United States |
| area | 1500 acres |
| volume | 90000 acre.ft |
| shore | 20 mi |
| :: |
| name = Hensley Lake & Hidden Dam | image = Hensley Lake to Madera, California - Aerial (49394374028) (cropped).jpg | caption = Aerial view of the lake |pushpin_map=California | location = Near Raymond, Madera County, California, United States | coords = | lake_type = Reservoir | inflow = Fresno River | outflow = Fresno River | catchment = | basin_countries = United States | length = | width = | area = 1500 acres | depth = | max-depth = | volume = 90000 acre.ft | residence_time = | shore = 20 mi | elevation = | reference = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Lake_Hensley_Vista_Point_1.jpg" caption="Lake Hensley Vista Point"] ::
Hidden Dam is an earthen dam on the Fresno River in Madera County, California. It creates a reservoir known as Hensley Lake. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Lake_Hensley,_California,2016_panorama.jpg"] ::
The dam was constructed in by the Perini Corporation as part of an expansive United States Army Corps of Engineers project for flood control, irrigation storage, and recreation. The dam is 184 ft tall, is 5730 ft long at its crest, and is the only major storage dam of the Fresno River.
The reservoir it creates, Hensley Lake, has a water surface of 2.5 sqmi, over 20 mi of shoreline, and has a maximum storage capacity of 90000 acre.ft. In 1978 the lake was opened to day-use recreation, including water skiing, fishing, swimming, horseback riding, mountain biking, and hiking. The Hidden View Campground offers single and group camping year-round.
The lake is named for local settler and cattle rancher John Jackson Hensley.
Eastman Lake, another Corps of Engineers lake, is located 15 mi to the northwest.
References
References
- "Hensley Lake".
- "Archived copy".
- "Hensley Lake".
- "Hensley Lake, California".
- The Valley's Legends & Legacies III, by Catherine Morison Rehart, page 99
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