Lake Almanor is a large reservoir in northwestern Plumas County, northeastern California, United States. The reservoir has a capacity of and a maximum depth of about . It is formed by Canyon Dam on the North Fork of the Feather River, as well as Benner and Last Chance Creeks, Hamilton Branch, and various natural springs. Creation The dam is 130 feet tall and composed of hydraulic fill. The first dam was completed by Great Western Power in 1914 as part of the Upper North Fork Feather River Project, damming the North Fork of the Feather River and flooding the meadow-filled valley generally known as Nakam Koyo/Big Meadows/Big Springs, a longstanding Yamani Maidu village site. When the dam was built, Maidu families still living in the vicinity were displaced, while parts of the town of Prattville had to be moved to higher ground, leaving multiple structures flooded over. The reservoir was named for the three daughters of Guy C. Earl, Vice President of Great Western Power: Alice, Martha and Eleanor. The present dam, which more than doubled the lake's size, was constructed by Great Western Power from 1926 to 1927. The dam is now owned by Pacific Gas and Electric Company. PG&E uses it for hydroelectricity production, but the lake is also a popular recreation area, with fishing, boating, water skiing, swimming and camping available. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued safe eating advice based on mercury for fish caught from Lake Almanor. Geography The lake-front and immediate surroundings are, either officially or unofficially, divided into a series of regions: North Shore, typically referring to the north-east shoreline and the campground of the same name The Peninsula, the major east-side peninsula bisecting the lake and largely taken up by the Lake Almanor Country Club, the community of Almanor, and the more recent residential developments known as Bailey Creek and Foxwood Hamilton Branch, the east-side community next south of the Peninsula, named for the river of the same name East Shore, both the developed and undeveloped areas between Hamilton Branch and the dam itself Canyon Dam (also known as Canyondam), the community just southeast of the dam South Shore, the southwest shoreline taken up largely by PG&E managed campgrounds and undeveloped grounds Prattville, the small resort community on the southwest shoreline; retains the same name as the town that was once in Big Meadows (now underwater) West Shore,