the clarity of its water is one unique fact about lake tahoe.
the clarity of its water is one unique fact about lake tahoe.
what is one unique fact about lake tahoe?
the clarity of its water
the lake was formed about two million years ago as part of the lake tahoe basin, with the modern extent being shaped during the ice ages. it is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. the area surrounding the lake is also referred to as lake tahoe, or simply tahoe. more than 75% of the lake's watershed is national forest land, comprising the lake tahoe basin management unit of the united states forest service.
lake tahoe
lake tahoe became a transportation hub for the surrounding area as mining and logging commenced prior to development of railroads. the first mail delivery was via a sailboat which took a week to visit each of the lakeside communities. the first steamboat on lake tahoe was the paddle wheel tugboat "governor blasdel" towing log rafts to a sawmill on the south side of glenbrook bay from 1863 until her boiler exploded in 1877. the "truckee" and propeller-driven "emerald" were also towing log rafts in 1870. j.a. todman brought steam-powered passenger service to lake tahoe in 1872 with the 125-passenger side-wheel steamer "governor stanford" which reduced the mail delivery trip around lake tahoe to eight hours. todman expanded service with steamboats "mamie", "niagara", and "tod goodwin". lawrence & comstock provided competition with their steel-hulled steamboat "tallac" in 1890 and later purchased todman's steamboats "mamie" and "tod goodwin". the carson and tahoe lumber and fluming company purchased the "niagara" and built the iron-hulled steamboats "meteor" in 1876 and "emerald (ii)" in 1887. the "meteor" was the fastest boat on lake tahoe with a speed of per hour. lake tahoe railway and transportation company dominated the passenger and mail route after launch of their 200-passenger steamboat "tahoe" on 24 june 1896. the 154-ton "tahoe" was long with a slender beam so her engines could push her over the lake at 18.5 knots. lake tahoe railway and transportation company purchased "tallac" and rebuilt her as "nevada" with length increased by to serve as a backup steamboat when "tahoe" required maintenance.
lake tahoe