Englebright Lake

Englebright Dam is a 280 ft (85 m) high variable radius concrete arch dam on the Yuba River in the Sacramento River Basin, located in Yuba and Nevada counties of California, United States. It was put into service in 1941 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The dam was constructed in 1941 for the primary purpose of trapping sediment derived from anticipated hydraulic mining operations in the Yuba River watershed. Hydraulic mining in the Sierra Nevada was halted in 1884 but resumed on a limited basis until the 1930s during the great depression under the California Debris Commission. Although no hydraulic mining in the upper Yuba River watershed resumed after the construction of the dam, the historical mine sites continued to contribute sediment to the river. Today, Englebright Lake is used primarily for recreation and hydropower. Englebright Lake is nestled in the scenic Sierra foothills east of Marysville. Constructed for the storage of hydraulic gold mining debris, Englebright Dam is a concrete arch structure. It spans 1,142 feet (348 m) across and is 260 feet (79 m) high. The dam is in the steep Yuba River gorge known as the Narrows, holding back a 9-mile-long (14 km) lake with a surface area of 815 acres (3.30 km2; 330 ha). The lake is unique in that it offers boat-in camping only. The 70,000-acre-foot (86,000,000 m3) Englebright Reservoir provides water-based recreational benefits to the region and provides 45,000 acre-feet (56,000,000 m3) of stored water-right capacity, which is released each year through dam operations to benefit fish downstream. Water is also diverted for regional domestic and agricultural uses. Hydroelectric generation from water stored behind Englebright produces about 294 million kilowatt hours of energy each year, or enough for the annual energy needs for 50,000 homes.A new flow bypass system was installed in 2006 by the Yuba County Water Agency and Mitchell Engineering so that river flow requirements can be met during shut-downs of the Narrows II Powerhouse at the base of the dam. Narrows 1 Powerhouse is further downstream and smaller than Narrows 2 Powerhouse.

Mooney Flat was an important mining and transportation hub in western Nevada County, California, just east of the Yuba County line. It was situated on modern Mooney Flat Road, about 1 mile north of modern Highway 20, at an elevation of about 800 ft. Mooney Flat lies at the western end of the auriferous channel that runs down the San Juan Ridge. The channel disappears past French Corral and then reappears around Mooney Flat for a few miles, encompassing the communities, from east to west, of Mooney Flat, Sucker Flat, Smartsville and Timbuctoo, Smartsville was the principal town and still exists today. It is often hard to separate the history of Mooney Flat from the history of Smartsville. While the boundary drawn between Nevada County and Yuba County put Smartsville in Yuba County and Mooney Flat in Nevada County, in ensuing years, the Smartsville residents petitioned unsuccessfully to become part of Nevada County.

Smartsville is a census-designated place in Yuba County, California, United States, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. It is one of the many historic towns in California's gold country, and is today a California Historical Landmark. Located at an altitude of 669 feet (204 m), Smartsville lies about 15 miles (24 km) east-northeast of Marysville, along State Route 20. The population was 177 at the 2010 census.

The Oat Hills are a low mountain range of the eastern Sacramento Valley, located in Yuba County, California.

The Sand Hills are a low mountain range of the eastern Sacramento Valley, located in Yuba County, California.

Timbuctoo is an unincorporated community in Yuba County, California. It lies northwest of Smartsville, at an elevation of 397 feet (121 m).

Lake Wildwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Nevada County, California, United States. The population was 4,991 at the 2010 census, up from 4,868 at the 2000 census. Lake Wildwood is mainly a gated community and news about the CDP is published in a twice a month newspaper, The Wildwood Independent. Local businesses and residences are listed in the annual "Penn Valley Area Directory" published by "Pine Tree Press".

Sicard Flat is an unincorporated community in Yuba County, California, USA. It is located 3 miles (4.8 km) west-northwest of Smartville, at an elevation of 348 feet (106 m). The name honors Theodore Sicard, miner and merchant, who settled here in 1848.

Yuba County ( ; Maidu: Yubu) is located in north-central Sutter County, California, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 81,575. Yuba County is included in the Yuba City metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Sacramento–Roseville combined statistical area. The county is in the Central Valley region along the Feather River; the county seat is Marysville.

Penn Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Nevada County, California. The population was 1,621 at the 2010 census, up from 1,387 at the 2000 census.

South Yuba River State Park is located along the South Fork of the Yuba River in the Sierra Nevada, within Nevada County, in Northern California.

The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is located in Bridgeport, Nevada County, California, southwest of French Corral and north of Lake Wildwood. It is used as a pedestrian crossing over the South Yuba River. The bridge was built in 1862 by David John Wood. Its lumber came from Plum Valley in Sierra County, California. The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1972 and pedestrian traffic in 2011 due to deferred maintenance and "structural problems".On June 20, 2014, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed budget legislation that included $1.3 million for the bridge's restoration. The work was slated to be done in two phases—near-term stabilization followed by restoration. The bridge reopened to pedestrians in November 2021 following completion of the restoration work.The Bridgeport Covered Bridge has the longest clear single span of any surviving wooden covered bridge in the world.