Lake Tahoe
L A K E T A H O E
GEOLOGY
Lake Tahoe is a masterpiece of nature and most locals can tell you just how
it was created. In a nutshell, the Tahoe Basin was formed about five to ten
million years ago by the rising and falling of the land due to the shifting of
geologic faults.
Tremendous forces began the western tilt of the Sierra Nevada block. As a
result, two principal parallel faults developed. The eastern margin created the
Carson Range and the western margin created the Sierra Nevada. The up-thrown
fault blocks created the highest peaks in the region. The down-thrown fault
blocks sank to create a deep v-shaped valley, now called the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Later, about two million years ago, volcanic activity followed and played a key
role in further reshaping the landscape of the region. Lava flowing from Mt.
Pluto formed a barrier across the Basin's northeastern outlet, creating a
natural dam across Lake Tahoe's original outlet, the Truckee River. Water from
the snowfall and streams gradually filled the Lake Tahoe Basin, over 600 feet
higher than its present lake level! Eventually, a new outlet eroded through the
northeastern lava dam, creating the present path of the Lower Truckee River, the
only outlet of the lake.
Then an Ice Age developed and huge glaciers grew in the surrounding mountains
and gradually moved down the v-shaped canyons on the western side of the lake.
The glaciers scoured away loose rock and reshaped the canyons into the broad,
u-shaped valleys of Emerald Bay, Fallen Leaf Lake and Cascade Lake.
Today, the highest point in the Tahoe Basin is Freel Peak at 10,881 feet. The
deepest part of Lake Tahoe is near Crystal Bay, measuring a water depth of 1,645
feet. Source =
Lake
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Geology and Natural History of Lake Tahoe