# Lake Chabot > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lake_Chabot > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Lake_Chabot.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chabot > Source revision: 1336540454 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) For the lake in Solano County, California, see [Lake Chabot (Vallejo)](/source/Lake_Chabot_(Vallejo)). **Lake Chabot** (/sh@bou/) is a man-made [lake](/source/Lake) covering 317 acres (1.3 km2) in [Alameda County, California](/source/Alameda_County,_California), United States. Part of the lake lies within [Oakland](/source/Oakland,_California) city limits, but most of it lies in unincorporated [Castro Valley](/source/Castro_Valley,_California), just east of [San Leandro](/source/San_Leandro,_California). It was formed by the damming of [San Leandro Creek](/source/San_Leandro_Creek). The lake was completed in 1875 to serve as a primary source of water for the [East Bay](/source/East_Bay_(San_Francisco_Bay_Area)). The [California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment](/source/California_Office_of_Environmental_Health_Hazard_Assessment) (OEHHA) has developed a safe eating advisory[2] for Lake Chabot based on levels of mercury found in fish caught here.[3] ## History The Lake Chabot dam was built in 1874–1875 as a primary source for water in the East Bay. At that time, the dam and reservoir were known simply as the San Leandro Reservoir.[4][5] It was renamed Lower San Leandro Reservoir when another dam was built on the same creek upstream of the original lake, creating [Upper San Leandro Reservoir](/source/Upper_San_Leandro_Reservoir). Chabot Dam was designated as a California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the [American Society of Civil Engineers](/source/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers) in 1976.[6] ## Description Lake Chabot was closed to recreation for 91 years. Legislation passed in the 1960s opened the lake for controlled recreation uses. Currently, the lake serves as a standby emergency water supply. For this reason, visitors are asked to observe certain necessary regulations to keep the waters pure. There are also blooms of toxic [blue-green algae](/source/Blue-green_Algae) in the lake during the summer and fall that make contact with the water dangerous.[7] [Anthony Chabot Regional Park](/source/Anthony_Chabot_Regional_Park) and [Lake Chabot Regional Park](/source/Lake_Chabot_Regional_Park) offer a number of activities including family and group camping, hiking, equestrian trails, bicycle trails, nature study, picnicking, golf, [fishing](/source/Fishing), [boat rental](/source/Boat_rental), a [marina](/source/Marina), a restaurant and boat tours of the lake. ## Impact Aside from sedimentation caused by normal [earth-fill dam](/source/Earth-fill_dam) construction, much of the dam's clay core and soil overburden were washed away in a storm during construction in 1874, resulting in the formation of [Arrowhead Marsh](/source/Arrowhead_Marsh) in [San Leandro Bay](/source/San_Leandro_Bay), at the mouth of [San Leandro Creek](/source/San_Leandro_Creek) near the [Oakland International Airport](/source/Oakland_International_Airport). Coastal surveys show the marsh appearing sometime between 1855 and 1895, though logging of the [San Antonio Forest](/source/San_Antonio_Forest) may have also played a role. Today, Arrowhead Marsh is one of the last remaining wetlands in the East Bay, and part of [Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline](/source/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Shoreline), while nearly all of the surrounding historic marsh has been covered with industrial development.[8] ## See also - [List of lakes in California](/source/List_of_lakes_in_California) - [List of lakes in the San Francisco Bay Area](/source/List_of_lakes_in_the_San_Francisco_Bay_Area) - [List of dams and reservoirs in California](/source/List_of_dams_and_reservoirs_in_California) ## References 1. ["Lake Chabot"](https://oehha.ca.gov/fish/advisories/lake-chabot). *www.oehha.ca.gov*. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 29 February 2024. 1. Admin, OEHHA (2014-12-30). ["Lake Chabot"](https://oehha.ca.gov/fish/advisories/lake-chabot). *OEHHA*. Retrieved 2018-06-13. 1. ["Castro Valley History page 7"](http://www.mycastrovalley.com/history/page07.html) 1. [Bazzell, Burr. "The San Leandro Earth Dam of the Oakland Water Works." In *Engineering News and American Railway Journal*. Vol. 48. September 11, 1902. p. 187.](https://books.google.com/books?id=-RAtHMJMbokC&dq=Lower+San+Leandro+Reservoir&pg=PA187) Available on Google Books. Accessed February 17, 2017. 1. ["Chabot Dam Historical Marker"](https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=71714). *The Historical Marker Database*. Retrieved March 6, 2021. 1. ["Lake Chabot Regional Park"](http://www.ebparks.org/parks/lake_chabot). 16 September 2023. 1. Christopher Richard. ["Arrowhead Marsh & Lake Chabot"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716201249/http://museumca.org/creeks/z-arrowhead.html). Oakland Museum. Archived from [the original](http://museumca.org/creeks/z-arrowhead.html) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-06-08. ## External links - [East Bay Regional Park District](http://www.ebparks.org) - [Bazzell, Burr. "The San Leandro Earth Dam of the Oakland Water Works." In *Engineering News and American Railway Journal*. Vol. 48. September 11, 1902. p. 187.](https://books.google.com/books?id=-RAtHMJMbokC&dq=Lower+San+Leandro+Reservoir&pg=PA187) Available on Google Books. Accessed February 17, 2017. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lake Chabot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chabot) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chabot?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.