Big Bend, Butte County, California

39°41′54″N 121°27′39″W

Big Bend
Unincorporated community
Big Bend Location in California Show map of California Big Bend Big Bend (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 39°41′54″N 121°27′39″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Butte County
Elevation [1]	2,310 ft (704 m)

Big Bend (formerly, Bigbend) is an unincorporated community in Butte County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 2310 feet (704 m). A post office operated in Big Bend from 1883 to 1891.[2]

Big Bend was the site of the Big Bend Tunnel Project, established in 1880 to dig a tunnel bypassing a large bend in the Feather River so that gold could be easily recovered from the dry segment of riverbed. The project, overseen by engineer Frank McLaughlin, constructed a tunnel thirteen feet by sixteen feet in cross-section, and twelve thousand feet long.[3] The project, however, was deemed a failure and was discontinued in 1887. The tunnel was later used as a part of the water supply to Pacific Gas and Electric's Big Bend Powerhouse.[4]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Big Bend, Butte County, California
2. Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 194. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
3. Mansfield, George C. (1918). History of Butte County, California. Los Angeles, CA: Historic Record Company. p. 299.
4. McGie, Joseph F. (1982). History of Butte County, Volume I, 1840-1919. Butte County Board of Education. pp. 134–136.