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Big Bend, Butte County, California

Coordinates: 39°41′54″N 121°27′39″W / 39.69833°N 121.46083°W / 39.69833; -121.46083
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39°41′54″N 121°27′39″W / 39.69833°N 121.46083°W / 39.69833; -121.46083

Big Bend
Big Bend is located in California
Big Bend
Big Bend
Location in California
Big Bend is located in the United States
Big Bend
Big Bend
Big Bend (the United States)
Coordinates: 39°41′54″N 121°27′39″W / 39.69833°N 121.46083°W / 39.69833; -121.46083
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyButte County
Elevation2,310 ft (704 m)

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

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  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Big Bend, Butte County, California
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Mansfield, George C. (1918). History of Butte County, California. Los Angeles, CA: Historic Record Company. p. 299.
  4. ^ McGie, Joseph F. (1982). History of Butte County, Volume I, 1840-1919. Butte County Board of Education. pp. 134–136.