CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Stampede Dam

dam on the Little Truckee River in Sierra County, California, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ7597477
Source-derived summary

Stampede Dam (National ID # CA10192) is a dam in Sierra County, California, impounding the Little Truckee River.

The earthen and rock-filled dam was constructed in 1970 (1970), at 239 feet (73 m) high and 1,511 feet (461 m) long at the crest. It was a project of the United States Bureau of Reclamation, not primarily for flood control or irrigation storage as usual, but for fishery enhancement, primarily to facilitate the spawning of the critically endangered species cui-ui fish downstream. The dam is owned and operated by the Bureau.

The reservoir it creates, Stampede Reservoir, has a water surface elevation of 5,955 feet (1,815 m) and an area of about 3,340 acres (1,350 ha) and about 25 miles (40 km) of shoreline, with a maximum capacity of 226,500 acre-feet (279,400,000 m3). Recreation includes fishing (for kokanee salmon, rainbow, brook, brown and lake (mackinaw) trout, etc.), hunting, boating, camping and hiking. There is an accessible viewing platform at Stampede Vista Point.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Stampede Dam” as dam on the Little Truckee River in Sierra County, California, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Stampede, Little and Truckee.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1970—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Stampede, Little and Truckee providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Stampede Dam”, the useful work is to connect “dam on the Little Truckee River in Sierra County, California, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7597477. Authority coordinates are 39.475, -120.104. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1970.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Stampede Dam”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Stampede Dam primary sources, Stampede Dam archive and Stampede research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Stampede Dam”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Stampede Dam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.