Gerber Reservoir

Gerber Reservoir
Gerber Reservoir at sunset
Location	Klamath County, Oregon
Coordinates	42°12′36″N 121°07′48″W / 42.210°N 121.130°W / 42.210; -121.130Coordinates: 42°12′36″N 121°07′48″W / 42.210°N 121.130°W / 42.210; -121.130
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Miller Creek and its tributaries
Primary outflows	Miller Creek
Catchment area	234 square miles (610 km2)
First flooded	June 1925 (1925-06)
Max. length	5 mi (8.0 km)
Max. width	2.3 mi (3.7 km)
Surface area	3,815 acres (1,544 ha)
Average depth	27 ft (8.2 m)
Max. depth	65 ft (20 m)
Shore length1	28.9 mi (46.5 km)
Surface elevation	4,835 ft (1,474 m)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Gerber Reservoir is an irrigation impoundment created by Gerber Dam. It is located in southern Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The reservoir covers 3,815 acres (1,544 ha). The dam and reservoir are named in honor of Louis C. Gerber, an early pioneer who owned much of the land flooded by the reservoir. Today, the reservoir and surrounding property is owned by the United States Government. It is administered by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Land Management. Gerber Reservoir is a popular outdoor recreation site with two campgrounds along its west shore.

Native Americans occupied sites around what is now Gerber Reservoir for perhaps 6,400 years before the first European settlers arrived in the area. Ancient campsites have been found along the shore of Gerber Reservoir and in the surrounding area. Family bands of Klamath and Modoc peoples used these sites from early spring through fall for hunting, fishing, and plant gathering activities.

Louis C. Gerber (1854–1930) and his family were among the first whites to settle in the area. In the mid-1880s, Gerber used the Swamp Act to acquire 840 acres (340 ha) along Miller Creek on the high plateau northeast of the Langell Valley. In 1895, he filed a homestead claim on an adjacent 168-acre (68 ha) parcel. By 1915, Gerber had also purchased 20 abandoned homesteads in the same area. He consolidated all these properties into the Gerber Ranch. In 1923, Gerber sold 1,008 acres (408 ha) to the United States Government. This area was flooded when the Bureau of Reclamation completed the Miller Creek impoundment dam in June 1925. Both the dam and the reservoir it created were named in his honor.

During World War II, the island in the middle of Gerber Reservoir was used as a United States military bombing range. Today, ospreys and pelicans nest on the island.