Meadow Lake

A reservoir in Nevada County, California west of Donner Summit in the Sierra Nevada. It was a Gold Rush project, constructed in 1858(!) to process quartz veins that proved to be barren. Briefly it was the centerpiece of a town of the same name which was virtually abandoned by 1868--little now remains of the townsite. The reservoir is now used for recreation--presumably the dam has been upgraded over the years!