SCIENCETECH · HISTORICAL MARKER

Old Bear Valley Dam

Science & Tech
12
In 1884 Frank Brown built an unusual single-arch granite dam here to supply irrigation water for the Redlands area. The dam formed Big Bear Lake, then the world’s largest man-made lake. Engineers claimed the dam would not hold, and declared it “The Eighth Wonder of the World” when it did. The old dam is usually underwater because of the 20-foot higher dam built 200 feet west in 1912.
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California · United States
San Bernardino National Forest, California
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