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Why Lake Tahoe
Tax Benefits
Lake Tahoe History
Climate
Although weather in the Sierra Nevada Mountains can be unpredictable, the sun shines at Lake Tahoe approximately 274 days per year.
Temperatures
In the winter months and below depths of 700 feet, the water temperature remains a constant 39 degrees F. Lake Tahoe never freezes due to the constant mass movement of water from the bottom to the surface. In February 1989, Emerald Bay froze over for the first time since 1952. During the summer months, the upper 12 feet of the Lake can warm up to 68 degrees F.
Purity
Lake Tahoe’s water is 99.9% pure. The water is so clear that a 10 inch white dinner plate would be visible from 75 feet below the surface
Size
Lake Tahoe is the highest lake of its size in the United States and the largest Alpine lake in North America. It is 22 miles long, 12 miles wide and has a surface area of 122,628 acres, or 193 square miles. Lake Tahoe is as long as the English Channel is wide with the width of Tahoe being half again as wide as the San Francisco Bay. The Panama Canal (700 feet in width and 50 feet in depth) could be filled by Lake Tahoe’s water and extend completely around the Earth at the equator, with enough remaining in the lake to fill another channel of the same width and depth running from San Francisco to New York.
Volume
There are 63 streams and two hot springs draining into Lake Tahoe with only one outlet at the Truckee River. The lake contains an estimated 39.75 trillion gallons or 122 million acre feet of water. With one dispersion of Lake Tahoe’s water, the State of California would be completely covered to a depth of 14.5 inches. An average 1,400,000 tons of water evaporates from the surface of Lake Tahoe every 24 hours, yet this drops the lake level only one-tenth of an inch. If the water that evaporates from the lake every 24 hours could be recovered, it would supply the daily requirements of a population of 3,500,000 people.
Depth
Lake Tahoe’s average depth is 989 feet. Its deepest point is 1,645 feet, making it the third deepest lake in North America. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation controls the top 6.1 feet of the lake as a reservoir.
Elevation
The average surface of Lake Tahoe is 6,226.95 feet above sea level. Its natural rim is 6,223 feet above sea level. Mt. Tallac, at 9,735 feet, is the highest peak rising directly from Lake Tahoe’s shoreline. However, the highest point in the Tahoe Basin is Freels Peak at 10,881 feet.
Location
Lake Tahoe lies directly on the Nevada/California border, and enjoys ease of air, vehicle and rail access. Nearby Interstate 80 links the region to San Francisco, Sacramento and Reno, while the Reno/Tahoe International and Truckee-Tahoe airports provide international, regional and private air services. As an “interstate navigable waterway,” Lake Tahoe is protected by the U.S. Coast Guard, and is reputed to be the most desirable Coast Guard duty station in the world.
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