The beauty of Lake Tahoe is breathtaking. It is a fantastic place to visit, with resorts and developments that will satisfy everyone.

The lake itself formed by the rise and fall of the flaws of 5 to 10 million years. This created a deep valley that was blocked on the northeast side of the lava from an eruption of Mt. Pluto about 2 million years ago. According to geologists, the original height of Lake Tahoe was 600 feet above its present level.

Today The lake stretches across the California-Nevada border, 59 miles southwest of Reno and 100 miles northeast of Sacramento. Lake Tahoe, has an area of approximately 192 miles square and contains about 39 billion gallons of water with a circumference of 72 miles.

It is the largest lake in the Alps, which measures 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. It is the third deepest lake in North America and the tenth deepest in the world, with an average depth of 989 meters and 1645 meters at its lowest point.

Lake Tahoe is one of the few most important water bodies in North America that eventually empty into the ocean. The lake is fed by 63 rivers, but only the Truckee River exits. The lake surface is 6227 meters over sea level. The lake surface may fall below the Truckee exit in times of drought, make fully autonomous lake right now.

The 12 meters from the lake can warm to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer but in winter and in the underworld, the lake is maintained at a life-threatening cold and 39 degrees F. However, due to the constant turnover of water from the bottom to the surface, the lake as a whole has never been known that have been frozen over.

This spectacular water body has held many names over the years. It was "discovered" by explorer John C. Fremont, accompanied by the famous guide Kit Carson, February 14, 1844. Fremont called Lake Bonpland after a French botanist who had joined him in previous expeditions. However, cartographer Charles Preuss registered as Mountain Lake. Despite all this was commonly called Fremont Lake until 1852 when the Governor of California John Bigler, led a party to the area to rescue some passengers in the snow. It was then renamed Lake Bigler.

The lake was under other names as Lake Truckee and Maheon lake until the outbreak of the Civil War, when the politically correct members of the Union attempted to achieve Bigler name in the lake due to its alleged sympathies of Confederation. It was then that the name "Tahoe" was proposed, presumably because it means "high water". Although it appears that there is little historical support for this sense of the word "Tahoe" the name stuck. Some suggest that the word is actually a corruption of the Spanish word "Tajo" pronounced "ta-ho" and that means a "cut".

Today, the Tahoe Basin offers an absolutely incredible range of outdoor activities free to choose. Alpine skiing, cross country skiing, ice skating, sleigh rides, sledding, sleigh rides pulled by dogs, snowmobiles, horseback riding, skiing water, lake swimming, hiking, camping, golf and boating, to name a few.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Lake Tahoe

MVI 9950