Lakes / California / Butte County / Thermalito Forebay
Thermalito Forebay, California
576 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - California
39.52 degrees N, 121.61 degrees W - Butte County. State and county outlines drawn from Census boundary data; the lake marker is placed by its USGS National Hydrography Dataset coordinates, not by eye. Schematic - not a survey map.
How Thermalito Forebay Stacks Up
- Larger than 83% of the 1,147 lakes counted in California.
- About 65 miles from Sacramento, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thermalito Diversion Pool | Butte | 4.5 mi | 312 acres |
| Thermalito Afterbay | Butte | 4.5 mi | 4,075 acres |
| Miners Ranch Reservoir | Butte | 8.2 mi | 49 acres |
| Lake Oroville | Butte | 9.6 mi | 10,612 acres |
| Lake Wyandotte | Butte | 10 mi | 37 acres |
| Lake Oroville | Butte | 15 mi | 871 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Thermalito Forebay
How Big Is Thermalito Forebay?
Thermalito Forebay covers 576 acres in Butte County, California.
What Is the Largest Lake in Butte County?
Lake Oroville is the largest lake in Butte County, at 10,612 acres.
Largest Lakes in California
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salton Sea | Imperial | 233,096 acres | - |
| 2 | Lake Tahoe | Placer | 122,975 acres | - |
| 3 | Goose Lake | Modoc | 93,048 acres | - |
| 4 | Honey Lake | Lassen | 59,917 acres | - |
| 5 | Mono Lake | Mono | 45,124 acres | - |
All 1,147 California lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS NHD (The National Map NHD MapServer layer 12) named waterbodies FTYPE 390/436; counties via Census point-in-polygon lake data (ID 129660000). Verified October 30, 2026.