Lake Tahoe Nevada-California

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second-deepest in the United States.

We entered the Lake at Incline Village on the North Eastern side.  The lake has many cities along it's 72-miles of shoreline.  Approximately two-thirds of the shoreline is in California.

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. It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides.

This section of the lake is known as Crystal Bay.  You can see I managed to capture a photo of someone sailing.  The north shore boasts three peaks at 10,000+ feet: Mount Rose, Houghton and Relay peaks. Mt. Rose is a very popular hiking and back country skiing destination.

Kathy and I decided to take a closer look at Bliss State Park in the southern portion of the lake.  The scenery was terrific.  

We both thought the water would be cold and we were both right.  You can see the huge boulders that act as a platform for tourist walking along the edge of the lake.  

We were surprised at the many beaches along its coast.  Although the weather was a little chilly most of the beaches were occupied with local visitors.

Because of Lake Tahoe's striking beauty, it is a draw for year round activities and holds exciting opportunities for scuba divers along with unique challenges for scuba diving due to its elevation.  At this altitude, Lake Tahoe is considered a high altitude dive and requires special high altitude scuba diving procedures.  Here's a group of instructors with their students. 

The water temperature near the surface generally cools to 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit during February and March and warms to 65 to 70 degrees during August and September. Below a depth of 600 to 700 ft, the water temperature remains a constant 39 degree Fahrenheit.  

Historically, the clarity of Lake Tahoe has been decreasing, with the rate of decrease slowing. However, in the last two years the lake's clarity has increased by over 10 percent. Fine sediment, much of it resulting from land disturbance in the basin, accounts for about half of the loss in clarity. The year 2010 had a low average Secchi depth, with the depth of 64.4 feet being the second lowest ever recorded (the lowest was 64.1 feet in 1997). It represents a decrease of 3.7 feet from the previous year.

Emerald Bay State Park is a state park of California, USA, preserving Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay, a National Natural Landmark. Park features include Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm, a 38-room mansion that is considered one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the United States. The park also contains the only island in Lake Tahoe, Fannette Island.

Here's a photo of some of the mountain peaks along the west side of Lake Tahoe.  Kathy and I drove the entire 72 miles of shoreline.  We were thoroughly impressed with the beauty of Lake Tahoe and its surroundings. 

On a sad note, Kathy and I thought we would stop by the famous Ponderosa Ranch  (picture obtained via the web), of the TV series Bonanza which was formerly located on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. When we got near the ranch we were saddened that the Ponderosa Ranch had closed its doors in September 2004, after being sold to developer David Duffield for an undisclosed price. The Ranch had been demolished when we reached the site.