Lake Tahoe is a beautiful, crystal-clear blue lake nestled among mountain peaks. It has depths of up to 1,600 feet and the mountain peaks are in the 8,000 to 10,000-foot range. During the summer, boating, camping, and hiking are popular activities. Winter sports are popular during the colder months.

Lake Tahoe has been a tourist destination since the turn of the 20th century, when steam trains and improving roads made it possible to visit with ease. The 1960 Winter Olympics, held at Squaw Valley, popularized winter sports at Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe, freshwater lake occupying a fault basin on the California-Nevada border in the northern Sierra Nevada, U.S. Fed by numerous small streams, it is drained by the Truckee River to Pyramid Lake, Nevada, about 60 miles (100 km) northeast. It measures 22 miles (35 km) north-south and 12 miles (19 km) east-west and has an area of 193 square miles (500 square km); its surface stands at 6,229 feet (1,899 m) above sea level, and its maximum depth is 1,640 feet (500 m). Visited in 1844 by the soldier-explorer John C. Frémont, the intensely blue lake took its name from the Washoe Indian word meaning “big water.” Water is supplied through its western outlet, the Truckee, for the Newlands Irrigation Project in Nevada. The lake and the surrounding area of national forests have been developed as tourist resorts.

Back in the day, Native American tribes journeyed to Lake Tahoe to collect medicinal plans, fish the cool blue water, hunt, and gather materials for tools. By the late 19th century, Lake Tahoe mesmerized the wealthy San Franciscans who built large summer estates along the shores, entertaining the rich and famous. Gold and silver were discovered in Virginia City, Nevada, and lumber from the Sierra Nevada was hauled away to support the burgeoning mining town.