THE HISTORY OF LAHONTAN DAM AND RESERVOIR

Lahontan gets its name from the ancient Lake Lahontan which covered over 8,500 square miles of the western Great Basin during the Ice Age. Pyramid and Walker Lakes are living examples of this once mighty body of water.

The Lahontan Dam and reservoir are the cornerstones to Lahontan State Recreation Area. The dam was constructed as part of the Newlands Reclamation Project, the first land reclamation project to deliver water from works constructed by the United States Government.

The first phase of the project began in 1903 as an effort to reclaim land from the desert, giving life to the farms and ranches in Fallon and surrounding Churchill County. The project diverts and stores waters from the Truckee and Carson Rivers to irrigate over 57,000 acres of farmland and provide hydroelectric power. Drainage water finds it way to the Stillwater Wildlife Refuge, one of the finest waterfowl areas in Nevada.

Construction of the dam began in 1911 and was completed in 1915. It is 162 feet high, 1,700 feet long and contains 733,000 cubic yards of earth fill. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 274,000 acre feet when full. The entire Newlands project has over 700 miles of canals, lateral and open drains.

The waters from the project turned Fallon into the "Oasis of Nevada." The farms still produce some of the finest agriculture in the state including the legendary and delicious Hearts O' Gold cantaloupe which was grown in abundance in the 1920's. The sweet, juicy cantaloupe isn't grown in abundance in Fallon these days, though it lends its name to the "Hearts O' Gold Cantaloupe Festival," one of Fallon's marquee special events. For more information about the Lahontan State Park, go to website: www.parks.nv.gov/lah.htm