lake tahoe

a lake on the border between Nevada and California to the west of Carson City

a popular resort area

"Tahoe" redirects here. For the SUV, see Chevrolet Tahoe.'' Lake Tahoe is a Fresh waterfreshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (US)Sierra Nevada, on the border between California and Nevada, with approximately two-thirds of the shoreline in California.

Geography - Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest (1645 feet/501 m), largest (192 sq. mi./497 km²)¹, and highest (6229 feet/1898 m) lakes in the United States. Only Oregon's Crater Lake is deeper at 1930 feet (588 m).Although for much of Tahoe's circumference, highways run within sight of the lake shore, some important parts of the California shoreline now lie within state parks or are protected by the United States Forest Service. Nevada seems to have been less active, or less successful, in its conservation ethicconservation efforts.Lake Tahoe is about 22 mi (35 km) long and 12 mi (19 km) wide and has 72 mi (116 km) of shoreline and a surface area of 191 square miles or 495 square kilometers.The Lake Tahoe Basin was formed by normal faultgeologic block (normal) faulting about 2 to 3 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 (US)Sierra Nevada on the west. Down-dropped blocks created the Lake Tahoe Basin in between. Some of the highest peaks of the Lake Tahoe Basin that formed during this process were Freel Peak at 10,891 ft (3,320 m), Monument Peak at 10,067 ft (3,068 m) (the present Heavenly Valley Ski Area), Pyramid Peak at 9,983 ft (3,043 m) (in the Desolation Wilderness), and Mount Tallac at 9,735 ft (2,967 m).Snow, rain, and streams filled the southern and lowest part of the basin, forming the ancestral Lake Tahoe. Modern Lake Tahoe was shaped and landscaped by the scouring glaciers during the Ice Age (the Great Ice Age began a million or more years ago). Many streams flow into Lake Tahoe, but the lake is drained only by the Truckee River, which flows northeast through Reno and into Pyramid Lake in Nevada.The south shore is dominated by the lake's largest city, South Lake Tahoe, California, which neighbors Stateline, Nevada. Tahoe City, California is located on the lake's northwest shore.

History - The area around Lake Tahoe was originally inhabited by the Washoe (tribe)Washoe tribe of Native Americans in the United StatesNative Americans. Kit Carson and John C. Frémont were the first non-indigenous people to see Lake Tahoe, in 1844. Upon discovery of gold in the South Fork of the American River in 1848, thousands of west-bound gold seekers passed near the basin on their way to the gold fields. European civilization first made its mark in the Lake Tahoe basin with the 1858 discovery of the Comstock Lode, a silver deposit just 15 miles (24 km) to the east in Virginia City, Nevada. From 1858 until about 1890, logging in the basin supplied large timbers to shore up the underground workings of the Comstock mines. The logging was so extensive that almost all of the native forest was cut. In 1864, Tahoe City was founded as a resort community for Virginia City, the first recognition of the basin’s potential as a destination resort area. Public appreciation of the Tahoe basin grew, and during the Sixty-second United States Congress1912, 1913, and Sixty-fifth United States Congress1918 Congressional sessions, unsuccessful efforts were made to designate the basin as a United States National Parknational park. During the first half of this century,development around the lake consisted of a few vacation homes. The post-World War II population and building boom, followed by construction of gambling casinos in the Nevada part of the basin during the mid-1950’s, and completion of the interstate highway links for the 1960 Winter Olympics1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, resulted in a dramatic increase in development within the basin. From 1960 to 1980, the permanent resident population increased from about 10,000 to greater than 50,000, and the summer population grew from about 10,000 to about 90,000.By 1970, the lake had started to show signs of eutrophication, which would wreck the pristine beauty that attracts tourists. To combat this, the local cities installed a quite-exotic tertiary sewage treatment plant. Despite this, the lake is still losing an average of one and a half feet of clarity per year due to development and associated erosion problems, runoff from pavement, and fertilizer usage on the lake shore.

Tourist activities - Today, the area surrounding Lake Tahoe is full of restaurants, ski slopes and casinos.

Winter sports - During ski season, thousands of people from all over California, including Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose, flock to the slopes for some of the best skiing in the world. Lake Tahoe, in addition to its panaramic beauty, is well known for its blizzards. It gets more snow than anywhere in the United States and more than 99% of the world. Some of the major ski areas in Tahoe include:

Heavenly Ski ResortHeavenly Valley: the largest Ski area at Tahoe, located near Stateline, Nevada

Squaw Valley: the second largest ski area, known for its hosting of the 1960 Winter Olympics, located near Tahoe City

Alpine Meadows: a medium sized ski area on the north shore only a few miles from Squaw Valley

Diamond Peak: a medium sized ski area located in Incline Village, NV

Northstar-at-Tahoe: a popular north shore ski area

Kirkwood Ski ResortKirkwood: a south shore ski area which gets more snow than any other ski area in Tahoe

Sierra-at-Tahoe: a small south shore ski area

Boreal Ski ResortBoreal: a small ski area on Donner Pass

Sugar Bowl Ski ResortSugar Bowl: a medium sized ski area in Donner Pass

Donner Ski Ranch: a very small ski area on Donner Pass

Homewood Ski ResortHomewood: a medium sized ski area on the west shore

Mount Rose: a medium sized ski area north-east of the Lake, atop Mt. RoseScattered throughout Tahoe are public and private sled parks. Some, such as Granlibakken are equipped with rope tows to help sledders get up the hill.Many ski areas in Tahoe also have Snow tubing, such as Squaw Valley. Snow tubing is popular among people who are interested in alternative sports. There is also Cross Country Skiing, Snowmobile riding, and Snowshoeing

Water sports - During the summer, the lake is popular for List of water sportswater sports and beach activities. The two cities most identified with the Lake Tahoe tourist area are South Lake Tahoe, California and the smaller Stateline, Nevada; smaller centers on the California shoreline include Tahoe City, CaliforniaTahoe City and Kings Beach, CaliforniaKings Beach.Boating, the primary activity in Tahoe in the summer, is known worldwide. There are lakefront restaraunts all over the Lake, most equipped with docks and Buoys (See the restaraunts section) There are all sorts of boating events, such as sailboat racing, firework shows over the lake, guided cruises, and more. Lake Tahoe also has its own Coast GuardList of Tahoe Marinas:

Homewood High and Dry Marina

Sierra Boat Company

Tahoe City MarinaList of Lake Tahoe Cruise Ships:

Tahoe Gal

Tahoe Queen

M.S. Dixe

Hiking and Mountain Biking - There are hundreds of hiking/mountain biking trails all around the lake. They range in size, legnth, difficulty, and popularity. One of the most famous of Tahoe's trails is the Tahoe Rim Trail, a 165 mile trail that circumnavigates the lake.

Gambling - Gambling is legal on the Nevada side of the lake, the resort area of Lake Tahoe attracts all kinds of fun seekers, year round. In the town of Stateline, NevadaStateline, near Heavenly Valley, there are myriads of enormous casinos filled all year long.See also: List of Tahoe Casinos

Environmental protection - Lake Tahoe has suffered from much use. Until recently construction on the banks of the Lake had been, more or less, under the control of wealthy real estate developers. Construction activities had been linked to a 'clouding' of the amazingly blue waters of the Lake. A court injunction has stopped all new construction until new rules that ensure the protection of the lake over the interests of individuals are in place. Currently, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is regulating construction along the shoreline. Many residents are enraged by the laws that they have passed, especialy those in the Tahoe Lakefront Homeowners Association.

Miscellaneous facts - Although Lake Tahoe is a natural lake, it is also used for water storage by the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (TCID). The lake level is controlled by a dam at the lake's only outlet, the Truckee River, at Tahoe City.The Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada and the Chevrolet Tahoe sport utility vehicleSUV were named after the lake.The North Shore features the Cal Neva Resort (once owned by Frank Sinatra) which has a marked state line running through it (even through its swimming pool).

Footnotes - #While relatively large, Lake Tahoe is only a fraction of the size of the Great Lakes, which dwarf all other lakes in the U.S.

See also -

Emerald Bay State Park

Mono Lake

Clear Lake

External links -

tahoe.usgs.gov - Lake Tahoe Data Clearinghouse - USGS/Western Geographic Science Center

trpa.org - Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

endeavor.des.ucdavis.edu - Lake Tahoe Watershed- California Rivers Assessment database

fs.fed.us - Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit - USDA Forest Service

flickr.com - Lake Tahoe Photographs - Lake Tahoe group at Flickr

keeptahoeblue.org - League to Save Lake Tahoe -environmental watchdog organization

tahoe.usgs.gov - USGS facts about Lake Tahoe - PD sourceCalifornia Nevada Category:Lakes of CaliforniaTahoeCategory:Lakes of NevadaTahoeCategory:Sierra NevadaCategory:Great !BasinCategory:LandmarksCategor y:Tourist? attractions in CaliforniaCategory:Ski areas and resorts in the United Statesbg:Тахоde:Lake Tahoeeo:Lago Tahoefr:Lac Tahoeno:Tahoesjøen

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How2vacation
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Lake Tahoe Boating
There many outdoor activities available at Lake Tahoe. None is better than boating at Lake Tahoe. The pure beauty of the Lake Tahoe area will capture your senses. The clear waters, mountain scenery and wooded shoreline are just part of the 'big picture' of the Lake Tahoe area.
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About Lake Tahoe
Guide to activies, lodging and information about Lake Tahoe and the central Sierra.
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Tahoe.com
A comprehensive guide to the Lake Tahoe area, including visitor and community information, recreation, marketplace, entertainment, and local news.
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VirtualTahoe.com
Information on South Shore lodging and packages, casinos, real estate, entertainment and events, recreation, web cams, and weddings.
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Tahoe's Best
Includes links on lodging, activities and resorts.
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South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce
Extensive information for visitors, businesses, current or prospective residents. Includes museums, maps, history, biking and hiking trails, pictures, several directories.
http://www.tahoeinfo.com/

Heavenly Ski Resort
Spans both Nevada and California above Lake Tahoe. Trail map, ski school information, special events calendar and employment offers.
http://www.skiheavenly.com/