In The News – Watershed moment; From the snowy mountain peaks to a dead-end desert lake, follow the flow of Tahoe’s waters
August 22, 2025 | Member Submitted
Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, 08/22/2025, Written by Clare McArther
On a warm spring day, snowpack high in the peaks surrounding Lake Tahoe begins to melt. The water trickles down the granite rocks finding its way into winding seasonal creek beds, flushing into large meadows, flowing into backcountry alpine lakes, and joining larger streams as it makes its way down the mountain into the big blue lake below.
Tahoe’s watershed — the land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt into a common body of water — is unique for a number of reasons. First and foremost is the size of the lake itself. The lake makes up 38% — a surface area of 192 square miles — of the 501-square-mile watershed, which is a major factor in the lake’s famed clarity.
Photo: CTC