LAKE TAHOE

"…I ascended today the highest peak… from which we had a beautiful view of a mountain lake at our feet, about 15 miles in length, and so nearly surrounded by mountains that we could not discover an outlet." So wrote John C. Fremont, on the clear, sunny morning of February 14, 1844.

The discovery was accidental: Fremont was searching for the mythical "Buenaventura River" described to the area by some early geographers, and shown variously on regional maps as flowing into the Gulf of Mexico or San Francisco Bay. Winter was not an auspicious time of year to travel the Sierra and Fremont's party had suffered severe hardships. Washoe Indian guides warned that no man had ever crossed the barrier in winter, and described the range simply but eloquently as consisting of "Rock on rock…snow on snow".

The discovery was a great morale-booster for the exploration party of 36 men, now in extremely bad physical shape and without a single sound pack animal. Just the night before, Fremont had written in his journal, "We had tonight an extraordinary meal…pea soup, mule and dog". From his first vantage point at the 10,000-foot level of what was probably either Steven's or Red Lake Peak, Fremont turned his eyes to the west, and there saw the sought-after pass. In his excitement at locating a way across the forbidding heights, Fremont neglected to name the magnificent lake he had discovered, but struck on with his exhausted party through the pass and down the south fork canyon of the American River to Sutter's Fort. The rigors of the journey can be better understood by considering the loss of all but 33 of his 67 pack animals, and though he did not lose a single man, two lapsed into insanity, unable to accept the monumental deprivation.

After his arrival at Stutter's Fort on March 8, Fremont wrote (as follows) of the 16-day journey from Carson Pass. "A more forlorn and pitiable (sight) than they presented cannot well be imagined. They were all on foot, each man weak and emaciated, leading a horse or mule as weak and emaciated as themselves. They had experienced great difficulty in descending the mountains, made slippery by rains and snows, and many horses fell over precipices and were killed…out of 67 animals with which we commenced crossing the Sierra, only 33 reached the valley out of the Sacramento, and they only in a condition to be led along."

Fremont left it to Mark Twain to wax lyrical on the subject of the lake's startling beauty, but he did rectify his earlier omission and designated it "Lake Bonpland" on his post-exploration maps of the region. (The name was bestowed in honor of the famed French explorer and botanist, Alme' J. Alexander Bonpland, who accompanied Baron Alex von Homboldt on his North American expedition.) Bonpland never came into general usage, however, nor did the other name, "Mountain Lake", also attributed to Fremont and shown on a few of his regional charts. By 1853 the lake's location was well enough established to enable the new State of California's official mapmaker to locate it with certain accuracy and name it…for some unknown reason…"Lake Bigler" in honor of the third governor of California, John Bigler. Both California and Nevada adopted the name, at least officially, but it rested uneasily on the crown jewel of the Sierra and in 1861 an attempt was made to change the name again, this time to the somewhat fanciful title "Tula Tulia". For better or worse, the effort failed and "Lake Bigler" remained in general use until late in 1862 when William Henry Knight, an early and wholehearted admirer of the basin, left the name Bigler off geological survey maps of the region he was preparing, and began a crusade to adopt the name Tahoe, the Indian name then most commonly accepted. As Knight explained, "I remarked (to many) that people had expressed dissatisfaction with the name "Bigler", bestowed in honor of a man who had not distinguished himself by any single achievement, and I thought now would be a good time to select an appropriate name and fix it forever on that beautiful sheet of water". And so it was that "Tahoe" appeared for the first time, at Knight's request, on federal maps issued from the Land Office in Washington, D.C. in 1862.

For untold centuries before explorers John Fremont and Kit Carson discovered Lake Tahoe in 1844, the Lake Tahoe Basin was a summer gathering place for three bands of peaceful Washoe Indians. Lake Tahoe held a spiritual meaning for the tribe and many sacred ceremonies were held along the southern shores.

The California Gold Rush lured emigrants and fortune seekers to the rugged Sierra. Prospective miners used passes to the north and south to circumnavigate the treacherous Tahoe Basin. The first West-to-East road across the mountains, the "Bonanza Road," was built to handle travelers eager to cash in on Virginia City's massive Comstock Lode which was discovered in 1859. Highway 50 now covers this route.

Way stations, stables and toll houses sprang up along the route. These stations were the basis for most development in the area, from Friday's Station at Stateline, which served as a Pony Express stop, to Yank's Resort in Meyer's, which was built in 1851.The discovery of the Comstock Lode not only increased traffic, it inflated the use of the Tahoe Basin's natural resources to a dangerous level. Wood was needed for fuel and to support the labyrinth of mines being constructed beneath Virginia City. Between 1860 and 1890, Tahoe's forests were nearly stripped of trees. The decline of the Comstock Lode may have been the saving of the Tahoe forest.

Reports of Lake Tahoe's beauty did not go unnoticed by the wealthy families of San Francisco. By the turn of the century, the lake had become a haven for the well-to-do. Popular hotes of the era included the Tallac House, Tahoe Tavern and the Glenbrook Inn. This period marked the heyday of steamship transportation around the lake, with mail and supply delivery around the lake, and lavish transport for visitors.

During the '20s and '30s, the roads through the mountains were paved, bringing in greater numbers of people and sparking growth of smaller, middle-class lodges. Development at Lake Tahoe began in earnest in the 1950's. Roads to the Basin began to be plowed year-round, enabling permanent residence. The 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley put Lake Tahoe firmly on the map as the skiing ceter of the western United States. In 1968, growing environmental concerns caused California and Nevada to form the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to oversee environmentally responsible development in the Basin. Work began on a master plan designed to improve the local tourism industry while protecting the fragile environment on which it is based.

Today, Lake Tahoe continues to offer visitors a bit of may historic eras. While hotel/casinos and ski resorts draw millions of guests each year, the main attraction continues to be the quiet beauty of the Sierra and the timeless inspiration of the lake itself, little changed from the days of the Washoe Indians.

Lake Tahoe Statistics: Lake Tahoe is 2/3 in California, 1/3 in Nevada. It is one of the deepest lakes in the world; the bottom is 92' below Carson City. It is the largest lake at its altitude or higher in North America. It contains over 4 times the water of Lake Mead with 1/3 less surface area. Size: 12 miles wide, 22 mi. long, 72 mi. around - 29 in NV Depth: Average is about 989'; deepest point about 1,645' (just west of state line about even with Tahoe City.) Elevation: 6228 feet Surface area: 193 sq. miles Avg. temperature: 40-45 deg. F winter, 65-75 summer. Clear days: annual average is 240 Relative size: 3rd largest in US, 10th in the world. In North America, only Crater & Great Slave Lakes are deeper. Capacity: about 40 trillion gallons or 122,160,280 acre feet Evaporation: about 1/10" or 1,400,000 tons a day Purity: 99.7% pure. Due to constant movement of water from the bottom to the surface, the lake never freezes. An interstate, navigable waterway, the Lake is protected by the US Coast Guard.

How was Lake Tahoe formed? The Sierra ranged was formed by uplifting during the Oligocene epoch, some 25 million yrs. ago. Tilts, faults and erosion caused slippage along the newly formed slopes, sinking the land and creating a bowl. 5 million years ago volcanic activity sealed the basin at the north end, causing the bowl to fill with rainwater and melting snow. About 10,000 years ago, during the Wisconsin Ice Age, the Lake Valley Glacier advanced into the area, sending ice rivers into the lake, one of which carved out Emerald Bay. As the glacier retreated, ice melted, causing the lake level to rise hundreds of feet, forcing an outlet through the porous volcanic seal at the northwest end; at this point the lake drains into the Truckee River. A dam at Tahoe City now regulates the flow.

South Lake Tahoe Chamber of commerce	http://www.tahoeinfo.com