Map of Big Creek CDP, California

Big Creek (Big Creek Flats in the 1870s; Manzanita Park in 1902; until 1926, Cascada) is a small census-designated place in Fresno County, California, located in the Sierra Nevada on the north bank of Big Creek. It lies at an elevation of 4,984 feet (1,519 m) above sea level. Its last population count was 175. The ZIP code is 93605, and the community is inside area code 559.

Big Creek CDP overview:
Name:	Big Creek CDP
LSAD Code:	57
LSAD Description:	CDP (suffix)
State:	California
County:	Fresno County
Elevation:	4,984 ft (1,519 m)
Total Area:	0.46 sq mi (1.19 km²)
Land Area:	0.46 sq mi (1.19 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²) 0%
Total Population:	151
Population Density:	328.26/sq mi (126.73/km²)
ZIP code:	93605
FIPS code:	0606518
GNISfeature ID:	1659696; 2628711

Online Interactive Map

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Big Creek online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Big Creek location map. Where is Big Creek CDP?

Big Creek location on the U.S. Map. Where is Big Creek CDP. — Big Creek location on the U.S. Map.

Big Creek location on the California map. Where is Big Creek CDP. — Location of Big Creek in California.

History

Big Creek was built at the site of the first dam and power plant of Southern California Edison’s Big Creek Hydroelectric Project, one of the most extensive in the world. Other than the private helipad owned by Southern California Edison, the only way in or out of the town is Big Creek Road, off of State Route 168. The dam has a walkway across it to the south bank, but access is limited to employees of SCE and those residents who have been given a key. Its major industries are electric power generation and tourism. There is camping and water recreation in the summer and snow skiing in the winter. Huntington Lake is to the northeast and Shaver Lake is to the south. China Peak is only about 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) away. Though Big Creek’s only school is an elementary, it teaches kindergarten through 8th grade.

The penstock pipes for the original two units at Big Creek Power Houses One and Two, built 1912–13, were purchased from the Krupp Works in Germany because at that time that manufacturer produced steel pipes of the tensile strength needed to contain the very high water pressures in the pipes in the 1,500 foot (460 m) drop down to Power House One. All post-World War One penstock pipes were manufactured in the United States.

The first post office opened at Big Creek in 1912.

Half the town’s homes were destroyed by the 2020 Creek Fire.