A beautiful lake 6,200 ft (1,891 m) high in the Sierra Nevada, straddling the California-Nevada state line, Lake Tahoe is a jewel to both nature-lovers and developers. It is the tenth deepest lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1,600 ft (488 m) and a total volume of 37 trillion gallons. At the south end of the lake sits a dam that supplies up to six feet of Lake Tahoe's water flow into the outlet of the Truckee River. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation controls water diversion into the Truckee, which is used for irrigation, power, and recreational purposes throughout Nevada.

Tahoe and Crater Lake are the only two large alpine lakes remaining in the United States. Visitors have expressed their awe of the lake's beauty since it was discovered by General John Frémont in 1844. Mark Twain wrote that it was "the fairest sight the whole Earth...