Shasta Lake is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from California Data Exchange Center. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
79.92 feet below full pool
−79.92 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Falling
- 7-day change
- Down 2.44 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 15.36 ft
- Last updated
- Today
Shasta Lake is currently 79.92 feet below full pool and has been falling over the past week. Readings show continued drawdown relative to full pool, with levels trending lower over the past week.
Watershed drought conditions
Shasta County, CA · surrounding county from lake location
Abnormally Dry
The surrounding county is abnormally dry, which is not official drought.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
Yes
1.4% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Shasta County, CA
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Datum
Current-level source
Project / NID identifier
Dam / watershed (NID design values)
Static design values from a confidently matched National Inventory of Dams record — not live gage readings.
- Normal storage
- 4.55M acre-ft
- Max storage
- 4.66M acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 30,210 acres
- Drainage area
- 6,111 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 186,000 cfs
- Dam structure
- Concrete · 602 ft high · completed 1945
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Feb 11, 2022
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Shasta Dam (CA10186)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Hydroelectric, Irrigation, Navigation, Recreation, Water Supply.
Why the level can change
General factors for reservoirs like this
These are common influences for this type of lake. They do not identify the cause of a specific current change unless an operator update confirms it.
Rainfall & inflows
Rain and upstream river inflows can raise reservoir levels, especially after storms.
Downstream releases
When an operator releases water through a dam, reservoir storage can fall and downstream flows can rise.
Flood-risk operations
Some projects store or release water under flood-risk rules when conditions require it.
Water supply
Some reservoirs support municipal, industrial, irrigation, or regional water-supply needs.
Hydropower
Hydropower projects may pass water through turbines when generating electricity.
Seasonal weather
Dry periods, heat, evaporation, and seasonal rainfall patterns can affect storage over weeks and months.
Published reference elevations
- Full pool
- 1067.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
Observation source used by Lake Insights: California Data Exchange Center
Who manages the lake and who publishes the reading Lake Insights displays can differ. Lake Insights does not invent a source label from the managing authority alone.
General education
Shared background — not lake-specific facts
Lake Insights aggregates water level information from authoritative public sources such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, TVA, Bureau of Reclamation, power utilities, and other official lake operators. We preserve historical observations, calculate trends, and present lake conditions in a consistent format. For California Data Exchange Center, we link to the official source whenever it is available. Lake Insights does not predict future lake levels unless an official forecast has been published by the managing authority.
Common questions about Shasta Lake
- Who manages Shasta Lake?
- Shasta Lake is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Shasta Lake?
- The published full-pool elevation for Shasta Lake is 1067.00 ft (NAVD88). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Shasta Lake?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Shasta Lake from California Data Exchange Center. The managing authority (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for Shasta Lake?
- Elevations for Shasta Lake are referenced to NAVD88 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of Shasta Lake?
- Documented purposes for Shasta Lake (National Inventory of Dams): Hydroelectric, Irrigation, Navigation, Recreation, Water Supply.