Aurora Reservoir

Aurora Reservoir is a 31,650 acre foot (39,040,000 m³) reservoir located in the far southeastern reach of Aurora, Colorado. Senac Creek and other minor streams flow into the reservoir's three coves, Senac, Marina and Lone Tree, each pointing to the south. The reservoir provides drinking water to the City of Aurora, and is also a recreation area.

History

Filled in 1990, the reservoir provides drinking water for the City of Aurora, which it also uses as a recreational facility. Miles of undeveloped prairie originally separated the reservoir from the city's neighborhoods, and its location has been referred to as "Aurora's Outback". However, over 3,500 new homes in the two new suburban communities, Beacon Point and Southshore are currently under construction immediately southwest of the reservoir, in addition to much other development in the area including the Southlands Lifestyle Center (approx 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the reservoir), Cherokee Trail High School and Fox Ridge Middle School (1/2 mile southwest) and thousands of other homes in the vicinity.

Aurora

An aurora, sometimes referred to as a polar light, is a natural light display in the sky, predominantly seen in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions. Auroras are produced when the magnetosphere is sufficiently disturbed by the solar wind that the trajectories of charged particles in both solar wind and magnetospheric plasma, mainly in the form of electrons and protons, precipitate them into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere), where their energy is lost. The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emits light of varying colour and complexity. The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles. Precipitating protons generally produce optical emissions as incident hydrogen atoms after gaining electrons from the atmosphere. Proton auroras are usually observed at lower latitudes. Different aspects of an aurora are elaborated in various sections below.

Reservoir

A reservoir (etymology: from French réservoir a "storehouse" ) is an enlarged natural or artificial lake, storage pond or impoundment created using a dam or lock to store water. Reservoirs can be created by controlling a stream that drains an existing body of water. They can also be constructed in river valleys using a dam. Alternately, a reservoir can be built by excavating flat ground and/or constructing retaining walls and levees.

Tank reservoirs store liquids or gases in storage tanks that may be elevated, at grade level, or buried. Tank reservoirs for water are also called cisterns.

Underground reservoirs store almost exclusively water and petroleum below ground.

Types

Reservoirs dammed in valleys

A dam constructed in a valley relies on the natural topography to provide most of the basin of the reservoir. Dams are typically located at a narrow part of a valley downstream of a natural basin. The valley sides act as natural walls, with the dam located at the narrowest practical point to provide strength and the lowest cost of construction. In many reservoir construction projects, people have to be moved and re-housed, historical artifacts moved or rare environments relocated. Examples are the temples of Abu Simbel (which were moved before the construction of the Aswan Dam to create Lake Nasser from the Nile in Egypt), the relocation of the village of Capel Celyn during the construction of Llyn Celyn, and the relocation of Borgo San Pietro of Petrella Salto during the construction of Lake Salto.

Walleye fishing

Fishing for walleye is a popular sport with anglers. The current IGFA all tackle record is 11.34 kilograms (25lb 0oz), caught on August 2nd, 1960 in Old Hickory Lake, Tennessee.

The sport is regulated by most natural resource agencies. Management may include the use of quotas and length limits to ensure that populations are not over-exploited. As one example, in the state of Michigan, walleye of under 15" may not be legally kept, except from Lake St. Clair, Saginaw Bay and the St. Clair River]], where walleye of 13" are legal to take. Many states also issue slot regulations on walleye. This is where you can keep fish below a certain size and others above. The slot limit protects the medium sized fish, which can be considered to be at prime sexual maturity.

Characteristics

Since walleyes have excellent visual acuity under low illumination levels, they tend to feed more extensively at dawn and dusk, on cloudy or overcast days and under choppy conditions when light penetration into the water column is disrupted. Although anglers interpret this as light avoidance, it is merely an expression of the walleye's competitive advantage over its prey under those conditions. Similarly, in darkly stained or turbid waters, walleye tend to feed throughout the day.