Lake Tahoe
A deep, clear alpine lake in the Sierra Nevada
Lake Tahoe sits high in the Sierra Nevada on the California–Nevada border, a deep, intensely blue alpine lake famous for the clarity of its water. At about 1,645 feet (501 m) deep it is the second-deepest lake in the United States, and it holds enough water to cover the whole of California more than a foot deep. Ringed by snow-capped peaks at over 6,200 feet of elevation, it is one of the most striking lake settings in the country.
The lake formed in a basin between two parallel faults, then was shaped by glaciers and dammed at one end by lava flows. Its water is famously pure — historically clear enough to see objects 100 feet down — because little sediment flows in, though development around the basin has reduced that clarity over time. A year-round resort region of ski areas and beaches surrounds it, straddling the state line.