The United States Bureau of Reclamation celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Shasta Dam and Powerplant’s completion, a key element of California’s Central Valley Project. Acting Regional Director Adam Nickels honored the 4,700 workers and their families who contributed to this engineering milestone from 1938 to 1945. … On June 20, 1945, the Bureau of Reclamation officially took control of both the dam and power plant from Pacific Constructors, Incorporated. Towering at 602 feet tall, Shasta Dam is the second-largest concrete dam in the U.S., stretching 3,460 feet across the Sacramento River. It required 6.5 million cubic yards of concrete, enough to circle the Earth’s equator with a 3-foot-wide sidewalk. … Shasta Reservoir, formed by the dam, is California’s largest water storage facility, holding over 4.5 million acre-feet of water.

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