Big Creek, California
| Big Creek, California | |
|---|---|
| Census-designated place | |
 Big Creek
|
|
| Coordinates: 37°12′18″N 119°14′45″W / 37.20500°N 119.24583°WCoordinates: 37°12′18″N 119°14′45″W / 37.20500°N 119.24583°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 California
|
| County | Fresno County |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.460 sq mi (1.191 km2) |
| • Land | 0.460 sq mi (1.191 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 4,984 ft (1,519 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 175 |
| • Density | 380/sq mi (150/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP Code | 93605 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1659696; 2628711 |
| U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Big Creek, California; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Big Creek, California | |
Big Creek (Big Creek Flats in the 1870s; Manzanita Park in 1902; until 1926, Cascada) is a small census-designated place in Fresno County, California, located in the Sierra Nevada on the north bank of Big Creek. It lies at an elevation of 4,984 feet (1,519 m) above sea level. Its population is 175. The ZIP code is 93605, and the community is inside area code 559.
Big Creek was built at the site of the first dam and power plant of Southern California Edison's Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, one of the most extensive in the world. Other than the private helipad owned by Southern California Edison, the only way in or out of the town is Big Creek Road, off of State Route 168. The dam has a walkway across it to the south bank, but access is limited to employees of SCE and those residents who have been given a key. Its major industries are electric power generation and tourism. There is camping and water recreation in the summer and snow skiing in the winter. Huntington Lake is to the northeast and Shaver Lake is to the south. China Peak is only about 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) away. Though Big Creek's only school is an elementary, it teaches kindergarten through 8th grade.
The penstock pipes for the original two units at Big Creek Power Houses One and Two, built 1912-13, were purchased from the Krupp Works in Germany because at that time that manufacturer produced steel pipes of the tensile strength needed to contain the very high water pressures in the pipes in the 1500 foot drop down to Power House One. These pipes were purchased twenty one years before the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, and before the NSDAP party even existed. There is visual evidence of swastikas (once used as a Hindu symbol of good luck) on Big Creek penstock pipe headers at Powerhouse 1 and 2. All post-World War One penstock pipes were manufactured in the United States. In addition, Big Creek is the hometown of Carver Mead, a Caltech electrical engineering professor who is responsible for developing the first GaAs MESFET and for his pioneering contributions to VLSI design.
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