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About Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra
Nevada mountains of the United States. It is located along the border between
California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest
alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft making it America's
second-deepest, (Crater Lake, in Oregon, being the deepest at 1945 feet deep).
It is about 22 mi long and 12 mi wide and has 72 mi of shoreline and a surface
area of 191 square miles
The lake was formed about 2 million years ago and is a part
of the Lake Tahoe Basin with the modern Lake being shaped during the Ice Ages.
The lake is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding
mountains on all sides. The area surrounding the lake is also referred to as
Lake Tahoe, or simply Tahoe.
Lake Tahoe is a major tourist attraction for both California
and Nevada. It is home to a number of ski resorts, summer outdoor recreation,
and tourist attractions. Snow and skiing are a significant part of the area's
economy and reputation. Mountain and lake scenery are attractions throughout
the year. The Nevada side also includes large casinos. Highways provide
year-round access from Reno, Carson City and Sacramento.
Geology
The Lake Tahoe Basin was formed by a geologic block (normal)
faulting about 2 million years ago. A geologic block fault is a fracture in the
earth's crust causing blocks of land to move up or down. Uplifted blocks
created the Carson Range on the east and the Sierra Nevada on the west.
Down-dropped blocks (a graben) created the Lake Tahoe Basin in between.
More technically, Lake Tahoe is the youngest of several
extensional basins of the Walker Lane Deformation Belt that accommodates nearly
12 mm/yr of dextral shear between the Sierra Nevada Microplate and North
America. The Lake Tahoe basin is formed by a series of large down-to-the-east
normal faults, including the West Tahoe—Dollar Point fault,
Stateline/North Tahoe fault and the Incline Village fault. These right-stepping
en-echelon faults are capable of large magnitude 7 earthquakes, with the most
recent M7 paleoquake (~1500 AD) occurring on the Incline Village fault with
nearly 9.7 ft of vertical offset.
Some of the highest peaks of the Lake Tahoe Basin that
formed during process of Lake Tahoe creation are Freel Peak at 10,891 feet ,
Monument Peak at 10,067 feet , Pyramid Peak at 9,983 feet (in the Desolation
Wilderness), and Mount Tallac at 9,735 feet. Eruptions from the extinct volcano
Mount Pluto formed a dam on the north side. Melting snow filled the southern
and lowest part of the basin to form the ancestral Lake Tahoe. Rain and runoff
added additional water.
Modern Lake Tahoe was shaped and landscaped by scouring
glaciers during the Ice Ages, which began a million or more years ago. Lake
Tahoe is fed from 63 tributaries with the Truckee River as the only outlet. The
Truckee flows northeast through Reno, Nevada and into Pyramid Lake, Nevada
which has no outlet.
>>> Detailed Lake Tahoe map click here
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