Fun Facts
Get to know Lake Tahoe.
Age, size, location, depth, volume... North America's famous mountain lake is full of surprises. No wonder 15 million-plus people visit each year. The more you learn, the more you'll want to discover. You can start by placing your cursor on each question square below to reveal the answer. Read under the square for bonus information.
Question:
How old is Lake Tahoe?
Answer:
Two million years
(give or take a few thousand)
It's one of the world's 20 oldest lakes.
Question:
How big is Lake Tahoe?
Answer:
22 miles long and 12 miles wide
With a surface area of 122,200 acres or 193 sq. miles, it is the largest alpine lake on the North American continent.
Question:
Where is Lake Tahoe?
Answer:
Lake Tahoe covers the Nevada/California border. It is 198 miles northeast of San Francisco
The lake is also 100 miles northeast of Sacramento, California and 58 miles southwest of Reno, Nevada.
Question:
How deep is Lake Tahoe?
Answer:
The average depth of Lake Tahoe is 989 feet.
Its deepest point is 1,645 feet in Crystal Bay, Nevada. The Empire State Building wouldn't break the surface.
Question:
What's Lake Tahoe's elevation?
Answer:
On average, the lake's surface is 6,222 feet above sea level.
Mt Rose, on the North Shore, is the second highest point around the Tahoe Basin at 10,785 feet.
Question:
What's the water temperature?
Answer:
In the summer, the upper 12 feet of the lake can warm to 68° F.
Below 600 feet and in winter, the lake's temperature is a constant 39° F. The lake does not freeze over in winter.
Question:
How much water is in the lake?
Answer:
The lake contains an estimated 39.75 trillion gallons of water.
Enough to cover California to a depth of 14.5 inches. 1.4 million tons of water evaporates from the lake every day.
Question:
Has Lake Tahoe been on screen?
Answer:
Scenes for TV’s “Bonanza” were filmed on the North Shore.
Lake Tahoe's big screen credits include The Godfather II, The Bodyguard and City of Angels.
Question:
In the Tahoe area, how many ski/snowboard resorts are there?
Answer:
There are 15 ski/snowboard resorts with a total of 167 lifts.
There are 11 resorts and the lifts access over 800 unique trails.
Question:
Is it sunny at Lake Tahoe?
Answer:
The sun shines at Lake Tahoe 75% of the year or 274 days.
The sun shines at Lake Tahoe during 75% of the year, or 274 days.
Question:
What's Tahoe water famous for?
Answer:
Its purity. Lake Tahoe water is 99.7% pure, about the same as distilled water.
The tap water has been voted the best tasting in the United States.
Question:
Who lives in Lake Tahoe?
Answer:
15 species of fish, four of them trout, live in Tahoe’s waters.
Some say a prehistoric creature like Scotland's Nessie lives in the lake. Most recent sighting: 1972.
