located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity millerton lake
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary ( a northeastern extension ___MASK92___ the San Francisco Bay ) in ___MASK54___ ___MASK91___ . It lies at the confluence ___MASK92___ the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers , forming the entrance to the Sacramento  San Joaquin ___MASK38___ Delta , an inverted river delta . Suisun Marsh , the tidal marsh land to the north , is the largest marsh in ___MASK91___ . Grizzly Bay forms a ___MASK54___ extension ___MASK92___ Suisun Bay . The bay is directly north ___MASK92___ Contra Costa County . The ___MASK62___ Bay is a shallow estuary that drains water from approximately 40 % ___MASK92___ ___MASK91___ . Water from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers , and from the Sierra Nevada mountains , passes through the bay to the Pacific Ocean . Specifically , both rivers flow into Suisun Bay , which flows through the Carquinez Strait to meet with the Napa River at the entrance to San Pablo Bay , which connects at its south end to ___MASK62___ Bay . However , the entire group ___MASK92___ interconnected bays is often called the " ___MASK62___ Bay ". The ___MASK3___ is the largest of the Earth ' s oceanic divisions . It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean ( or , depending on definition , to Antarctica ) in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east . Friant Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the San Joaquin ___MASK38___ in ___MASK57___ ___MASK91___ in the United States , on the boundary of Fresno and Madera Counties . It was built between 1937 and 1942 as part of a U . S . Bureau of Reclamation ( USBR ) water project to provide irrigation water to the southern San Joaquin Valley . The dam impounds Millerton Lake , a reservoir about north of Fresno . A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams . Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation , human consumption , industrial use , aquaculture , and navigability . Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity . A dam can also be used to collect water or for storage ___MASK92___ water which can be evenly distributed between locations . Dams generally serve the primary purpose ___MASK92___ retaining water , while other structures such as floodgates or levees ( also known as dikes ) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions . Millerton Lake is an artificial lake near the town ___MASK92___ Friant about 15 mi ( 24 km ) north ___MASK92___ downtown Fresno . The reservoir was created by the construction ___MASK92___ Friant Dam on the San Joaquin River which with the lake serves as much ___MASK92___ the county line between Fresno County to the south and Madera County to the north . Part ___MASK92___ the Central Valley Project , the dam was built by the United States Bureau ___MASK92___ Reclamation and was completed in 1942 . The lake stores water for irrigation , which is distributed by the Madera and Friant - Kern Canals to the San Joaquin Valley . It has a capacity ___MASK92___ 520 , 528 acre Irrigation is the method in which a controlled amount ___MASK92___ water is supplied to plants at regular intervals for agriculture . It is used to assist in the growing ___MASK92___ agricultural crops , maintenance ___MASK92___ landscapes , and revegetation ___MASK92___ disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods ___MASK92___ inadequate rainfall . Additionally , irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production , which include protecting plants against frost , suppressing weed growth in grain fields and preventing soil consolidation . In contrast , agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain - fed or dry land farming . The San Joaquin ___MASK38___ is the longest ___MASK38___ ___MASK92___ Central ___MASK91___ in the United States . The long ___MASK38___ starts in the high Sierra Nevada , and flows through the rich agricultural region ___MASK92___ the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay , San Francisco Bay , and the Pacific Ocean . An important source ___MASK92___ irrigation water as well as a wildlife corridor , the San Joaquin is among the most heavily dammed and diverted ___MASK92___ ___MASK91___ ' s rivers . ___MASK91___ is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area . Located on the western ( Pacific Ocean ) coast of the U . S ., ___MASK91___ is bordered by the other U . S . states of Oregon , Nevada , and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja ___MASK91___ . The state capital is Sacramento . Los Angeles is ___MASK91___ ' s most populous city , and the country ' s second largest after New York City . The state also has the nation ' s most populous county , Los Angeles County , and its largest county by area , San Bernardino County . The San Joaquin Valley is the area ___MASK92___ the Central Valley ___MASK92___ the U . S . state ___MASK92___ ___MASK91___ that lies south ___MASK92___ the Sacramento  San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River . It comprises seven Northern ___MASK91___ counties  all ___MASK92___ Kings County ; a majority ___MASK92___ Fresno , Merced , Stanislaus counties ; segments ___MASK92___ Madera and Tulare counties  and all ___MASK92___ Kern County , in Southern ___MASK91___ . Although a majority ___MASK92___ the valley is rural , it does contain urban cities such as Fresno , Bakersfield , Stockton , Modesto , Turlock , Porterville , Visalia , Merced , and Hanford .