39°41′54″N 121°27′39″W / 39.69833°N 121.46083°W
Big Bend (formerly, Bigbend) is an unincorporated community in Butte County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 2310 feet (704 m). A post office operated in Big Bend from 1883 to 1891.[2]
Big Bend was the site of the Big Bend Tunnel Project, established in 1880 to dig a tunnel bypassing a large bend in the Feather River so that gold could be easily recovered from the dry segment of riverbed. The project, overseen by engineer Frank McLaughlin, constructed a tunnel thirteen feet by sixteen feet in cross-section, and twelve thousand feet long.[3] The project, however, was deemed a failure and was discontinued in 1887. The tunnel was later used as a part of the water supply to Pacific Gas and Electric's Big Bend Powerhouse.[4]
References
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Big Bend, Butte County, California
- ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 194. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ^ Mansfield, George C. (1918). History of Butte County, California. Los Angeles, CA: Historic Record Company. p. 299.
- ^ McGie, Joseph F. (1982). History of Butte County, Volume I, 1840-1919. Butte County Board of Education. pp. 134–136.
Municipalities and communities of Butte County, California, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities and towns |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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