Located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada east of Modesto, California, Don Pedro Lake is actually a large reservoir -- in fact, it's the sixth-largest body of water in the state. It was created by a dam built on the Tuolumne River in 1971 (which replaced a much older dam, now underwater.) The reservoir is used for irrigation, electricity generation and recreation.

I passed by this overlook of Don Pedro on my drive back to San Jose, as the sun was setting . I really liked the way the sunlight carved shadows into the hills, and I found the bridge pretty impressive too. You can see how large both the reservoir and bridge are by the boat in the foreground.

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