Floor of Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada [postcard]

By Peter Dartnell and Helen Gibbons

Summary

Lake-floor depths shown by color, from light tan (shallowest) to blue (deepest). Arrows on map (C) show orientations of perspective views. A, view toward McKinney Bay over blocks tumbled onto the lake floor by a massive landslide 10s to 100s of thousands of years ago; dark triangular block near center is approximately 1.5 km (0.9 mi) across and 120 m (390 ft) high. B, view toward South Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay (on right) over sediment waves as much as 10 m (30 ft) high, created by sediment flowing down the south margin of the lake. Slopes appear twice as steep as they are. Lake-floor imagery from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) multibeam bathymetric data and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers bathymetric lidar data. Land imagery generated by overlaying USGS digital orthophoto quadrangles (DOQs) on USGS digital elevation models (DEMs). All data available at http://tahoe.usgs.gov/.

First posted August 12, 2011

Report PDF (1.4 MB)

This report is available only on the Web.

For additional information:
Contact Information, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
400 Natural Bridges Drive
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:

Dartnell, Peter, and Gibbons, Helen, 2011, Floor of Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada: U.S. Geological Survey General Information Product 132 [postcard].