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The beautiful and scenic Lake Tahoe area offers everything the business or leisure traveler would want or need. Lake Tahoe has many fine hotels and motels in every price range. There is a vast variety of activities available in Lake Tahoe. Enjoy gaming in the casinos, sailing or water skiing on the lake, or skiing and snowboarding on the slopes. Lake Tahoe is one of the premier vacation destinations in the United States. |
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Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest lakes in the United States. It is 1645 feet deep, and 192 sq. miles across. Only Oregon's Crater Lake is deeper at 1930 feet. Highways run within sight of the lake shore for much of Lake Tahoe's perimeter. Most of the California shoreline lies within state parks protected by the US Forest Service. Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide, and has 72 miles of shoreline.
Geologic block faulting (fractures in the Earth's crust causing land to move vertically) formed the Lake Tahoe Basin 2 to 3 million years ago. On the West side, Uplifted blocks formed the Sierra Nevada mountain Range. The Carson mountain Range was formed on the East side. Blocks of land dropping down created the Lake Tahoe Basin in the middle. Some of the highest mountain peaks of the Lake Tahoe that formed during this time were Freel Peak, Monument Peak, Pyramid Peak, and Mount Tallac.
Mean annual precipitation ranges from over 55 inches per year in watersheds on the west side to about 26 inches per year on the east side of the basin. Snow accounts for most of the precipitation from November to April. Rainstorms combined with snow melting account for the largest floods.
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Vegetation in the basin is dominated by a mix of Jeffrey Pine, Lodgepole Pine, White Fir, and red Fir trees. The basin also contains significant areas of wet meadows and riparian areas, dry meadows, brush fields and rock outcrops, mostly at the higher elevations.
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Mt. Tallac (9,735') |
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Mt. Pluto (8,610') |
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The name means "Great Mountain," and is the only mountain in Lake Tahoe that has a Washoe name. White settlers referred to Mt. Tallac as "Crystal Mountain" on their maps in 1873, but it soon came to be known as "Tallac Peak".
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Now the backbone of Northstar-at-Tahoe Ski Area, Mt. Pluto was one of the last volcanoes in the Tahoe area to erupt and first appeared on a map in 1874. Pluto is the name of the Roman god of the underworld and is named for plutonic rock. |
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Rubicon Peak (9,183') |
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Genoa Peak (9,150') |
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Overlooking D.L. Bliss State Park, Rubicon Peak's name is taken from the Rubicon River. The phrase "to cross the Rubicon" means to completely commit oneself and is an auspicious name for this peak, which first appeared on a map in 1881.
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On the East side, Genoa Peak was named after Columbus' birth city, because a cove in the mountain reminded Elder Orson Hyde, the first probate judge in western Utah, of the Genoa harbor. A trend for the names of many of the area mountains was based on the names of early settlers and homesteaders of Tahoe.
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Freel Peak (10,881') |
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Mt. Rose (10,778') |
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The highest mountain in the Tahoe area, Freel Peak, southeast of South Lake Tahoe, was named by William Eimbeck of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1876 for squatter James Freel, a miner and rancher, who settled at the foot of the mountain. Previously, Freel Peak was called "Bald Mountain" and "Sand Mountain" and was part of "Job's Group of Mountains." |
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It is not known how the third highest peak in Tahoe received its name, but the North Shore's Mt. Rose is named for either Jacob H. Rose, an early pioneer, or Rose Hickman, a friend of Washoe City newspaper editor H.S. Ham. The Mt. Rose Highway is the highest year-round, open Sierra pass at 8,900 feet.
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Ellis Peak (8,740') |
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Scott Peak (8,289') |
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Ellis Peak, which stands behind Homewood Mountain Resort and four miles west of Tahoma, was named for Jock Ellis, a dairy and sheep rancher. |
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Scott Peak, as in Scott chair at Alpine Meadows Ski Area, is believed to be named for the Scott family who settled in Squaw Valley in 1880, ran a dairy and built Deer Park Springs Inn. |
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Ward Peak (8,637') |
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Dick's Peak (9,974') |
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In the vicinity of Scott Peak and in the path of the Pacific Crest Trail is Ward Peak, named for either Ward Rush who in 1874 homesteaded 160 acres in the area or John Ward, a silver miner who lived in the area. |
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Dick's Peak in Desolation Wilderness Area is named after Captain Richard "Dick" Barter. Barter was also known as "the Hermit of Emerald Bay,". Besides his role as caretaker and craftsman, he was a lover of Lake Tahoe and would spend hours drifting in his boat. His namesake appeared on an 1889 map.
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Maggie's Peak (8,699') |
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Jake's Peak (9,187') |
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Mary McConnell named the southern peak "Fleetfoot Peak" after referring to Richard Barter who said that the peak should be named in honor of the first woman to summit it. She found the peak to be rather romantic and learned it had no name and named it after her ascent in 1869. The pair of mountains was also known as "Round Buttons" and the name is most likely related to Mary McConnell. |
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Northwest of Emerald Bay, this peak is named for Jeffrey "Jake" Smith and in memory of other persons who died in an avalanche at Alpine Meadows in 1982. |
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Lake Tahoe is popular for water sports and beach activities. The two cities most identified with the Lake Tahoe tourist area are South Lake Tahoe, California and Stateline, Nevada. Smaller cities on the Northern shoreline include Tahoe City and Kings Beach. The boating in Lake Tahoe is known worldwide and is the primary activity in the summer. Lakefront restaurants are all over the Lake, and most are equipped with docks and buoys. There are a wide variety of boating events, including as sailboat racing, fireworks shows over the lake, guided cruises, and more. Lake Tahoe has its own Coast Guard.
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During ski season, thousands of people from all over California, including Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, flock to the slopes in the area for some of the best skiing in the world. Lake Tahoe is well known for its blizzards in addition to its beauty. Many areas in Tahoe also have Snow tubing, such as Squaw Valley. Snow tubing is popular among people who are interested in alternative sports. Throughout Tahoe, Cross Country Skiing, Snowmobile riding, Snowboarding, and Snowshoeing are also popular.
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The Lake Tahoe area was originally inhabited by the Washoe tribe of Native Americans. Lake Tahoe was the center of Washoe Indian territory, including the upper areas of the Walker, Carson, and Truckee Rivers. This area was called "Da ow a ga", which means "edge of lake". Early White pioneers mispronounced this word, saying "Da ow", so it later evolved into what it is called today, Lake "Tahoe". Lt. John C. Frémont and Kit Carson were the first non-indigenous people to discover Lake Tahoe. In 1844, Frémont first sighted the lake from the Carson Pass. After arriving at Sutter's Fort he named it Lake Bonpland, in honor of the French explorer and botanist. In 1853, Tahoe was named Lake Bigler, in honor of California governor John Bigler. In 1862, the U.S. department of interior first introduced the name Tahoe. Finally in 1945, it was officially named Lake Tahoe.
The decision to divide Lake Tahoe with 2/3 to California and 1/3 to Nevada was reached when California became a state. When gold was discovered in the American River in 1848, thousands of gold seekers passed near the Tahoe basin on their way to the gold fields. From 1858 to 1890, logging in the basin provided timbers to shore up the workings of the Comstock mines. The logging was so extensive that almost all of the forest was cut. In 1864, Tahoe City was founded as a resort community for Virginia City, recognizing the basin’s potential as a resort area. During the 1912, 1913, and 1918 Congressional sessions, unsuccessful attempts were made to designate the area as a national park.
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The post-World War Two boom, followed by construction of gambling casinos in the Nevada part of the basin during the 1950’s, and building of the interstate highway links for the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, resulted in a large increase in development around the basin. From 1960 to 1980, the population increased from 10,000 to more than 50,000. Since the 1980s, development has decreased due to land use laws.
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