Lake Tahoe 2008

In August Diane attended the Scientific Advisory Committee meeting of the California Walnut Board in Lake Tahoe Nevada; Brett tagged along. Diane barely saw the light of day; Brett managed to do a little sightseeing. Click any picture for a larger image.

The Lake

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. It has a length of 21.3 miles, a width of 12.2 miles, a circumference of 71 miles, and a surface area of 195 square miles. An alpine lake is a lake at high altitude, and Lake Tahoe definitely qualifies, with an elevation of 6223 feet. The lake is surrounded on all sides by the Sierra Nevada mountains. The mountain slopes around the lake are forested with pine trees. Lake Tahoe straddles the border of California and Nevada. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency resort in Incline Village on the northeast side of the lake.

In the middle distance of this picture the Hyatt's beach is visible.

Vacation homes line the shores of this grand mountain lake. The natural shoreline and lake bottom are rocky. Note the local practice of "docking" boats entirely out of the water.

Lake Tahoe is deep, with a maximum depth of 1644 feet. It is the second deepest lake in the United States (Crater Lake in Oregon is the deepest at 1949 feet). There are over 39 trillion gallons of water in the lake; this volume of water could cover an area the size of California with 14 inches of water.

Lake Tahoe does not drain to the Pacific Ocean. Over 60 streams flow into Lake Tahoe, but just one -- the Truckee River -- flows out. The Truckee flows north through the desert past Reno, into Pyramid Lake. From there, the water simply evaporates.

While driving around the lake, it is difficult to get an open view of the lake, because of all the trees. This is the scenic overlook at Memorial Point. Most of the trees at this overlook are Ponderosa pine, but the most common tree in the valley is the Jeffrey pine, twin brother of the Ponderosa pine.

The Ponderosa pine and Jeffrey pine are different species, but they are virtually identical. They have the same profile. You can tell them apart from their cones, and from the smell of their bark (the bark of a Jeffrey pine smells like vanilla).

A variety of native species and introduced game fish -- mostly trout -- live in Lake Tahoe and surrounding waters.

Lake Tahoe is cold, with a temperature ranging from a constant 39 degrees F near the bottom, warming up to 68 degrees F along the shoreline in the summer. But the lake never freezes, not even during the coldest winter. It is so deep and so big that the water is constantly moving. As surface water approaches freezing temperature, it sinks. Warmer, lighter water then rises to the top, mixing with the colder sinking water, thus preventing the lake from freezing.

While it appears that the lake may be the remnant of an ancient volcano (like Oregon's Crater Lake), Lake Tahoe basin was actually formed 5 to 10 million years ago when the valley sank away from a double fault, lifting the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains. The lake was formed around two million years ago, when tectonic uplift and volcanic mudflows blocked the Truckee River. Ice Age glaciers continued to sculpt the lake. The last Ice Age waned about 20,000 years ago. Silt settled to the lake's bottom leaving the water extraordinarily clear. Plants colonized the slopes above, and sterile glacial sands slowly became rich soils. Forests sprouted, and animals moved into the watershed.

These large rounded boulders were shaped by glaciers. Seagull shown for scale. This bird wouldn't sit still. It would take off, fly in a low slow circle low over the water, and then return to the same rock. I don't know whether it was fishing or just camera shy, but it did this three times before I could get a picture. The lake's water level has varied considerably over time, both higher and lower. Ancient terraces on the mountainsides show that the lake was, at times, up to 800 feet deeper than present-day levels. There is an underwater "ghost forest" of ancient tree stumps, resting 40 feet deep off the lakeshore, telling us that around 6000 years ago, lake levels were much lower. This low period must have lasted at least 300 years -- long enough for large, mature trees to grow.

Although the entire lakeshore is currently heavily forested, none of these trees are particularly old. The Tahoe area was relatively uninhabited until 1859 and the discovery of silver in the nearby Comstock region (i.e. the "Comstock Lode"). The weak rock in the Comstock mines required timbers for support, and steam-powered mining equipment required tremendous amounts of fuel wood. Loggers turned to the great pine forests around Lake Tahoe. They cut the trees, yarded the logs to the shore, and then floated them to sawmills across the lake. Vast tracts of Lake Tahoe's shoreline were completely denuded of trees by 1900. The mining boom was over, but it devoured over 98% of the surrounding forests.

After processing, the lumber was loaded onto railroads and hauled up hair-raising slopes to the top of the Tahoe watershed for transport downhill by water-filled log flumes that stretched as far as Carson City. It must have been quite a sight.

There are a lot of hiking trails around Lake Tahoe. Due to the surrounding mountains, most trails either run steeply uphill, or steeply downhill to the lakeshore.

Although the lake is nearby, the soil is quite dry. The lower vegetation is primarily manzanita (with smooth red bark and small tough evergreen leaves), and tobacco bush (with large evergreen leaves). The area smells like pine, with a touch of wood smoke. Wildfires are burning elsewhere in California, and the smoke lingers in the bowl-shaped depression created by the mountains ringing the lake.

Continuing down the trail to the beach. From the mid-1800's to 1945, the lake had two names, Lake Tahoe, and Lake Bigler, memorializing California's governor John Bigler (1852-1858), who rescued a snowbound party of immigrants at Lake Valley. The lake was officially designated Lake Tahoe in 1945.

This isn't a great picture, but on the lake you will still see people using classic wooden speedboats. Typically made of mahogany and carefully restored, these boats are much more attractive than a modern fiberglass speedboat.

This gorgeous 19-foot Chris Craft Barrel Back from 1941 has a 6-cylinder 130 horsepower engine and a baby-blue interior. It can be yours for just $125,000.00.

Lake Tahoe is known for its exceptionally clear water and vivid blue hue. In some places, objects can be seen on the bottom in 75 feet of water! Mark Twain said that boating on the lake was akin to floating on air. But since real-estate developers discovered Lake Tahoe in the 1960s and ringed it with vacation homes and ski resorts, it has been mostly downhill for this cobalt-blue mountain lake. Before the surrounding watershed was modified by humans, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus entered the lake very slowly. With shoreline development, however, nutrients began entering the lake at excessive rates. Half the marshes and meadows in the Lake Tahoe Basin have been wiped out by development, eliminating natural sponges for runoff from storms and snow. Increased erosion from developed areas, runoff from fertilized landscaping, discharges from wastewater treatment systems, air pollution, and contaminated rain all contribute to nutrient levels in the lake. Nutrients, in turn, encourage ever-larger blooms of algae, which clouds the water.

So much sediment and other urban runoff was dumped into the lake that its legendary clarity -- measured at more than 100 feet in 1960s tests of submerged disks -- was just 67 feet by 2000. A vast campaign was started to save Lake Tahoe. Sewage systems are now consolidated and waste is disposed of outside the Tahoe watershed. Homeowners and builders are encouraged to control erosion and carefully monitor the application of pesticides and fertilizers. Homewood Mountain Resort, for example, has been working since 2006 to revegetate old roads and ski trails, coat forest floors with chipped wood and pump runoff back up the mountain. The idea is to help restore the mountainside's natural ability to sop up runoff, making it easier to keep the fine sediment in the soil. Since 2000, Lake Tahoe's clarity has improved marginally. In 2007, it was 70 feet.

This is one of several natural beaches along the lakeshore.

The Hotel

Incline Village Nevada is a resort village on the northeastern shore of Lake Tahoe.

This is bear country. Signs at the entrances to hiking trails warn of black bears and mountain lions. Also in the woods you will see talkative Douglas squirrels (my grandparents called them chickarees) with a dark brown coat and a dark bushy tail. There are also golden-mantled ground squirrels with a black and white striped back and golden head. They are often mistaken for chipmunks, but their stripes do not extend onto the head like they do in chipmunks.

I shared my lunch one day with a large jay, which I later learned was a Steller's jay. It is a large blue bird with a dark charcoal head and crest. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture; this is a stock photo.

This is the main entrance to the Hyatt Regency hotel at Incline Village. The main building is drab and is painted dark green. The interior is done in "lodge" style.

This is a view of the Hyatt's swimming pool, with guest rooms in the background and mountains in the distance. Note the iron fence surrounding the pool area. The Hyatt defends its pool and beach from non-guests with maniacal zeal.

These are the Hyatt's lakeshore "cottages".

This is the beach at the Hyatt Regency Incline Village. There is nothing natural about this beach. The trees have been cut, the glacial boulders have been removed, and the soil has been scraped away. Several truck loads of sand were brought it to form the beach. Give the people what they want.

Another view of the Hyatt's beach.

Guests board a sailboat for an evening cruise.

This picture is too dark, but this is a view inside the casino at the hotel. On the left is a bar, and yes, there are gaming machines mounted under the glass so you can keep playing while you sitting at the bar.

Kings Beach

Kings Beach is a lakeside town just west of Incline Village. Although it is only a few miles away, you cross the state line, so Kings Beach is in California.

This is a view of the central portion of Kings Beach. It is still a quaint town, with affordable cottages, miniature golf, ice cream, and souvenir stores.

This is the public beach at Kings Beach.

Another view of Kings Beach.

Getting to Lake Tahoe (via Reno)

We flew to Reno Nevada, and then drove south on Route 431 over Mount Rose pass to Lake Tahoe.

When you get off the airplane, the first thing you see in the terminal are gambling machines, lots of them. All of the ticket counters at the Reno airport are shabby desks out in the parking lot under a temporary roof (really!) but the gambling machines are all inside the terminal building and are in perfect working order. These machines appear everywhere, even in the local grocery stores. Nevada doesn't have a state income tax. It doesn't need one -- the residents hand over their money voluntarily. Our home state of Massachusetts taxes (and therefore discourages) work, thrift, and especially investment. Nevada taxes innumeracy. I'll leave it up to you to decide which approach is best.

This is Reno Nevada. The landscape is "shrub-steppe", desert terrain with very few trees. The sagebrush comes right up to the edge of the road. Although it is a desert, the elevation is quite high -- 4505 feet. These pictures were taken through a car window.

This is Galena, the southern area of Reno close to the Mount Rose highway. Bordering Mount Rose, it is considered one of the most desirable areas in the entire region. There is a giant rock "G" on the hillside behind Galena High School. The term "galena" refers to the mineral ore of lead.

Leaving Reno, the Mount Rose highway (State Route 431) ascends quickly into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe. It takes about an hour to reach the Lake Tahoe's Incline Village from Reno.

The Mount Rose "highway" is a well-groomed high mountain road, with tight curves and splendid scenic views.

Diane commented that nobody uses hairpins anymore, but we still call them hairpin turns.

A view from the Mount Rose highway.

Signs along the road advise travellers to use snow tires and tire chains during the winter months. Note the very tall snow poles along the road. When the snow is very deep, these poles mark the edge of the road for the snow plow drivers. Misjudging the edge of the road can be fatal.

A view near the summit of Mount Rose. Note we are getting close to the timberline.

A view near the summit of Mount Rose.

Another view near the summit of Mount Rose.

The Mount Rose summit. Elevation 8911 feet.

Diane in the parking plaza at the Mount Rose summit. Reno was already high, and we have almost doubled our elevation since leaving Reno. It was very windy.

Trees near the summit of Mount Rose.

Past the summit, the highway straightens out and glides down toward Lake Tahoe.

A view from the Tahoe side of the Mount Rose highway.

Diane next to a snow pole. Exactly how much snow do they get up here, anyway?

This is an open mountain meadow off the Mount Rose highway, a relatively rare sight in the Tahoe area. In the middle distance there is a walking path through the woods. It is popular because it is one of the few trails in the area that is horizontal rather than vertical. In the winter, it is used by snowmobilers.

Descending into the Lake Tahoe basin on the Mount Rose highway, a scenic overlook provides the first expansive view of Lake Tahoe.

Brett at the Lake Tahoe scenic overlook.

Thanks for visiting!