Merced County Streams Project, Bear Reservoir, California. Intensive Cultural Resources Survey


Book Description

The area to be impacted totals 836 acres, including the gross pool of the proposed new reservoir, as well as the associated constructional features. In addition, a total of 30 acres will be impacted by the borrow area downstream. A total of 31 resources was found and recorded. The site types found were many and varied, including three petroglyph sites, 11 isolated bedrock mortar loci, three middens, nine complex sites (sites with multiple features and/or components), and five historic sites which have structural remains. The richness and diversity of the resources, their seemingly internal integrity, and their relatively pristine condition suggest that nomination of the 30 sites within the reservoir to the National Register of Historic Places as a district. The historic resources are predominantly from the mining and ranching period. (Author).