Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of the United States. The lake spans the border of California and Nevada. Famous for its glimmering waters, mountains, and densely packed pine forests, Lake Tahoe is surely a sight to behold. The lake is at surface elevation of 1,897 meters (6,225 feet). Approximately 2/3 part of this lake is in California and the rest 1/3 is in the state of Nevada. Here are some interesting and mind-blowing facts about Lake Tahoe.

Top 10 interesting and fun facts about Lake Tahoe that are surely not to be missed!

Let’s start:

1. What’s so special about Lake Tahoe?

Lake Tahoe is among the top 20 oldest lakes in the world. Moreover, this lake is estimated to be around 2 million years old.

• Lake Tahoe is the deepest lake in California and second deepest lake in the United States.
• The lake has 116 kilometers (72 miles) of shoreline.
• The largest alpine lake in North America.
• The 16^th deepest lake in the world having maximum measured depth of 501 meters (about 1,645 feet).
• The 5^th deepest lake in the world in average depth having average depth of 305 m (1,000 feet).
• Lake Tahoe is the sixth largest lake by volume in the United States with capacity of 147 trillion liters (39 trillion gallons of water). You can guess its enormity by the fact that this water is enough to supply each person in the U.S. with 190 liters (50 gallons) of water per day. Still, the water will be enough for about 5 years. Amazing!

2. The 1960 Winter Olympics was held in Squaw Valley, on Western shore of Lake Tahoe!

The Squaw Valley situated on the western shoreline of Lake Tahoe was chosen for 1960 winter Olympics. The infrastructure and venues for the events cost around 80 million dollars but that was worth it because the skiing out here is just amazing.

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3. The lake was once inhabited by Washoe – the Native American tribe!

Once the lake was inhabited by the Washoe – the Native American tribe. In fact, the name of this lake “Tahoe” comes from the Washoe word “dá’aw,” meaning “the Lake.”  

4. The lake got so many different names before reaching the conclusion!

It is said this spectacular lake was discovered by explorer John C. Fremont in 1844. He named it “Lake Bonpland” after the famous botanist, Aime Bonpland. Later, the name was changed to “Lake Bigler” after California Governor, John Bigler. Still confused, the US Department of Interior hired a journalist, Dr. Henry Degroot, to decide a suitable name. Thus, he suggested the name “Tahoe”. The word “Tahoe” of Indian origin refers to “deep waters”. Undoubtedly, the name fits well with this lake.

5. Lake Tahoe’s water is one of the purest water!

As per the reports of Tahoe Fund, the lake’s water is almost as pure as drinking water. Interestingly, the water is about 99.99% pure.

6. The lake is deep enough to cover the Empire State Building!

One of the deepest lakes of the world, the Lake Tahoe is deep enough to cover the Empire State Building. The lake is whopping 1,645 feet deep as compared to the 1,454 feet height of the Empire State Building).

7. D.L. Bliss – the man who spur tourism in North Shore!

D.L. Bliss is regarded as the father of tourism in North Shore. In 1900, he built a narrow gauge railway to connect Tahoe city with Truckee. Therefore, thanks to this track, it became easier for people to reach and explore this stunning beauty.

8. You can catch one of the biggest Mackinaw lake trout fish in Lake Tahoe!

The Mackinaw lake trout is the biggest fish ever caught in the lake. In 1974, a man caught the biggest trout of 44 inches length, weighing 37 pounds. However, until now only six Mackinaw lake trout of over 30 pounds weight have been caught in the lake.

9. Some weird and creepy facts about Lake Tahoe!

There are so many creepy stories and rumors about this lake. Rumors has it that the mobsters from nearby casinos used to dump victims in the lake. It is also said that scuba divers have found numerous dead bodies here. What makes it creepier is that the dead bodies are perfectly preserved due to extreme cold temperature. Some fishermen claim that they have seen dead bodies floating on the surface of Lake. Another scary fact about Lake Tahoe! In July 1994, a scuba diver named Donald Christopher drowned in the lake. His body was not found until in 2011, a team of scuba divers found his body. To their shock, Donald’s body was very well preserved and even his wetsuit was intact. This was probably because of the cold temperature.

10. The unexplained mysteries of Lake Tahoe!

The lake is said to be the graveyard of sunken boats. Another article by the Reno Gazette Journal unveils some scary and unfortunate details about the lake. It claims that in late 1800s, this lake was a “dumping ground” for Chinese railroad workers. The poor workers were brought to Truckee for construction works and were promised citizenship. However, at the end of job, hundreds of them were tied together and dumped in the middle of lake. Not only this, the lake was used to dump kidnapped victims. The mob would put cement blocks on the feet of their victims and let them sink to the bottom.  There is no exact number of bodies at the bottom of the lake and for some unknown reasons, Government has not allowed to any exploration. Despite these creepy facts and rumors, the lake is one of the major tourist attractions. These were some of interesting and mind-blowing facts about Lake Tahoe. Share in comments if you know more about this beautiful lake. Stay tuned for more interesting content.