Due to the limited time of the study and the nature of working in the sediment of a reservoir, the extent of occupation was unable to be assessed.

[3] The current lake was formed in 1918 by damming Eleanor Creek as part of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir system,[2] constructed to supply water and power to the city of San Francisco.

The original smaller, natural lake was also named "Eleanor"[2] after the daughter of Josiah Whitney, leader of the California Geological Survey in the 1860s.

This first stage of the Hetch Hetchy project was built for year-round hydroelectric power generation, which was then sold to help finance construction of the larger O'Shaughnessy Dam, completed in 1923.

[4] Chief designer for the San Francisco Board of Public Works Michael O'Shaughnessy, along with hydraulic structural engineer R.P.