Tahoe, Lake (tä`hō, tā`–), 193 sq mi (500 sq km), on the Calif.-Nev. line. It occupies a basin in the Sierra Nevada and is drained by the Truckee River. Lying 6,228 ft (1,898 m) above sea level, its depth (1,645 ft/501 m) prevents it from freezing. Long known for its clearness, the lake, explored in 1844 by John Frémont Frémont, John Charles, 1813–90, American explorer, soldier, and political leader, b. Savannah, Ga. He taught mathematics to U.S. naval cadets, then became an assistant on a surveying expedition (1838–39) between the upper Mississippi River and the
..... Click the link for more information. , had grown less so by the late 1990s, when government officials began efforts to restore it. Lake Tahoe is a major vacation spot, with gambling resorts along the Nevada shoreline.

Tahoe, Lake

Lake Tahoe in Toiyabe National Forest, Nevada.

(credit: John F. Shrawder/Shostal)

Lake on the California-Nevada border in the northern Sierra Nevada, U.S. The lake, which occupies a fault basin, covers 193 sq mi (500 sq km). It is 22 mi (35 km) long by 10 mi (16 km) wide and lies at an elevation of 6,229 ft (1,899 m). Its water level has varied during seasons of drought in recent decades. Fed by numerous small streams, the intensely blue lake and the surrounding national forests have been developed as popular tourist resorts.