Owens Gorge Power Plants

The Owens River Gorge is a natural canyon carved by the river as it passed through the volcanic tablelands at the northern end of the Owens Valley. This landform, a giant, sloping volcanic scab, was formed on top of the existing valley floor 760,000 years ago by the eruption of the nearby Long Valley Caldera. The DWP has built three hydropower plants in the gorge, to take advantage of the 2,300 foot drop between Crowley Lake and the Owens River Valley. Between the plants, river water is diverted into pipelines in order to increase the velocity of the water flow, thereby increasing power.

On the west side of the road lies Round Valley, giving something of an impression of what the Owens Valley would have looked like in its agricultural heyday.