But with harsh snowy winters, the numbers flocking to the Tahoe Basin remained small, generally guided by legends like Snowshoe Thompson over the treacherous mountain passes. In the s, though, that all changed. When silver struck in nearby Virginia City, a vibrant lumber community prospered along the shores and into the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe, with settlers cutting timber, processing it in the lake and then shipping it via flume and later rail to Virginia City.
As transportation to and from the lake improved — the first car to survive the pass was in — intrepid adventurers and those seeking the respite of the great outdoors began to wind their way through the Sierra Nevada range and into the basin. North Lake Tahoe swiftly became a winter mecca for sports enthusiasts and sightseers alike. Pluto on the north shore formed a barrier or dam across the basin's outlet.
Water from rivers and streams flowed into the Basin gradually filling it several hundred feet above its present level. During the last Ice Age, less than a million years ago, huge ice blocks or glaciers formed in the surrounding mountains.
The material left after the glaciers melted, called moraines, blocked the original outlet of Lake Tahoe, changing it to the present Truckee River outlet at Tahoe City. For many thousands of years, Lake Tahoe was occupied only by Native American tribes.
Fremont's exploration party "discovered" the lake in For many years following Tahoe's discovery the area was virtually ignored. During the s Tahoe became the center of a lively commerce involving the silver mines in Virginia City and the Central Pacific Railroad which was pushing over the Sierra toward the town of Truckee.
The Comstock era resulted in large-scale deforestation of the Tahoe Basin, as timber was required to build mine shafts and support growing developments. It is estimated that over 80 percent of the Basin's forests were clear cut during this time.
Since then, public appreciation of Lake Tahoe and its natural resources has grown. During the , , and congressional sessions, conservationists made efforts to designate the Tahoe Basin as a national park but they were unsuccessful. Development pressures escalated again in the s and s, and a group of residents and visitors who were concerned about the environmental health of the region formed the League to Save Lake Tahoe.
Although it is commonly believed that Lake Tahoe is volcanic in origin, the Lake Tahoe Basin was actually formed by geologic block faulting 25 million years ago. Down-dropped blocks created the Lake Tahoe Basin in between. A lake formed in the basin between the two ranges and was originally significantly larger than modern Lake Tahoe. Several active volcanoes poured lava into the basin, eventually damming the outlet near the present town of Truckee.
Each autumn, from late September through mid-October, mature kokanee salmon Oncorhyncus nerka transform from silver-blue color to a fiery vermilion, and run up Taylor Creek, near South Lake Tahoe. As spawning season approaches the fish acquire a humpback and protuberant jaw.
After spawning they die and their carcasses provide a feast for gatherings of mink Neovison vison , bears Ursus americanus , and bald eagles Haliaeetus leucocephalus.
The non-native salmon were transplanted from the North Pacific to Lake Tahoe in Forest Service between and Descended from no more than nine individuals, beaver populations on the upper and lower Truckee River had reached a density of 0. At the present time beaver have been seen in Tahoe Keys, Taylor Creek , Meeks Creek at Meeks Bay on the western shore, and Kings Beach on the north shore, so the descendants of the original nine beavers have apparently migrated around most of Lake Tahoe.
Recently novel physical evidence has demonstrated that beaver were native to the Sierra until at least the mid-nineteenth century, via radiocarbon dating of buried beaver dam wood uncovered by deep channel incision in the Feather River watershed.
That report was supported by a summary of indirect evidence of beaver including reliable observer accounts of beaver in multiple watersheds from the northern to the southern Sierra Nevada, including its eastern slope.
A specific documented record of beaver living historically in Lake Tahoe's North Canyon Creek watershed above Glenbrook includes a description of Spooner Meadow rancher Charles Fulstone hiring a caretaker to control the beaver population in the early 20th century. A recent study of Taylor Creek showed that beaver dam removal decreased wetland habitat, increased stream flow, and increased total phosphorus pollutants entering Lake Tahoe — all factors which negatively impact the clarity of the lake's water.
In addition, beaver dams located in Ward Creek , located on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, were also shown to decrease nutrients and sediments traveling downstream. The lake's cold temperatures and extreme depth can slow the decomposition rate of organic matter. For example, a diver was found at a depth of feet 90 m 17 years after being lost, with his body preserved nearly perfectly. John C. Route 50 , was likely the first white man to see Meeks Bay and from a peak above the lake he named Fallen Leaf Lake after his Indian guide.
During the Civil War, Union advocates objected to the name, because Bigler was an ardent secessionist. Due to this, the U. Department of the Interior introduced the name Tahoe in Both names were in use: the legislature passed legislation declaring the official name to be Lake Bigler in , while to most surveys and the general public it was known as Lake Tahoe.
The lake didn't receive its official and final designation as Lake Tahoe until Upon discovery of gold in the South Fork of the American River in , thousands of gold seekers going west passed near the basin on their way to the gold fields.
European civilization first made its mark in the Lake Tahoe basin with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, a silver deposit just 15 miles 24 km to the east in Virginia City, Nevada. From until about , logging in the basin supplied large timbers to shore up the underground workings of the Comstock mines. The logging was so extensive that loggers cut down almost all of the native forest.
Even in the mining era, the potential of the basin as a tourist destination was recognized. Tahoe City was founded in as a resort community for Virginia City. Public appreciation of the Tahoe basin grew, and during the , and congressional sessions, congressmen tried unsuccessfully to designate the basin as a national park. The foot 5. During the first half of the 20th century, development around the lake consisted of a few vacation homes. The post-World War II population and building boom, followed by construction of gambling casinos in the Nevada part of the basin during the mids, and completion of the interstate highway links for the Winter Olympics held at Squaw Valley, resulted in a dramatic increase in development within the basin.
From to , the permanent residential population increased from about 10, to greater than 50,, and the summer population grew from about 10, to about 90, Since the s, development has slowed due to controls on land use. After a dispute that included gunshots exchanged between militia, in , California and Nevada defined a partition that followed geographical coordinates: the state line runs east of the approximate center line of the lake; at 39 degrees north latitude, the state border runs southeasterly towards the Colorado River.
Unbeknownst to the negotiators, this compromise split Lake Tahoe: two-thirds for California, one-third for Nevada. As the population grew and development expanded in the s, the question of protecting the lake became more imperative. In , The U. Congress and the California and Nevada State Legislatures created a unique compact to share resources and responsibilities.
In , the U. During the Civil War, Union advocates objected to the name, because Bigler was an ardent secessionist. Due to this, the U.
Department of the Interior introduced the name Tahoe in Both names were in use: the legislature passed legislation declaring the official name to be Lake Bigler in , while to most surveys and the general public it was known as Lake Tahoe. Upon discovery of gold in the South Fork of the American River in , thousands of gold seekers going west passed near the basin on their way to the gold fields. European civilization first made its mark in the Lake Tahoe basin with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, a silver deposit just 15 miles 24 km to the east in Virginia City, Nevada.
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