How did Lake Tahoe form?
About 3 to 3.5 million years ago, a system of north-south trending faults (fractures in the earth’s crust) began moving. The upward movement of the surrounding mountains and the downward fall of the valley bottom along these faults formed a basin that contained an ancestral Lake Tahoe. A much deeper body of water continued to form as the lake bottom fell. Approximately 2.5 million years ago, escaping water eroded through the volcanic edifice forming the existing lake outlet and Truckee River headwaters.
Fact credit: TahoeFacts.com
Ellen
Initially I saw a link as to freezing at Lake Tahoe. Water becomes most dense ( hence heaviest) just before freezing. The layer of heavy water then sinks to the bottom of the water body. This process continues until a body of water is just below freezing for the ice to form, as the ice is lighter and will float on the dense water. That’s why ice is on the top. ?This protects fish, etc. The size and depth of Tahoe prevents freezing from occurring.
Guy Johnson
Thank you for this information Ellen. And thank you for reading the Reno Realty Blog!
Ellen
I love your blog as the reseach on the markets is excellent that you do. It’s awesome.
Guy Johnson
Thank you for your kind words, Ellen. 🙂