Q 01/05

The 1913 dam that controls Lake Tahoe's level stands at the lake's only outlet, in which town?

A) Tahoe City

B) Stateline

C) Kings Beach

D) Glenbrook

Answer · why

A) Tahoe City

Tahoe City. The dam holds back only the top six feet of the lake, yet that thin layer is the largest reservoir in the whole Truckee River basin.

Q 02/05

Lake Tahoe is the second-deepest lake in the United States, behind which other lake?

A) Lake Superior

B) Crater Lake

C) Lake Chelan

D) Lake Champlain

Answer · why

B) Crater Lake

Crater Lake. Oregon's flooded volcano reaches 1,949 feet, about 300 more than Tahoe, yet Tahoe is still deeper than every one of the Great Lakes.

Q 03/05

Which geological process created the basin that holds Lake Tahoe?

A) Faulting

B) Volcanic collapse

C) River erosion

D) A meteorite impact

Answer · why

A) Faulting

Faulting. The basin floor dropped between two rising blocks of crust, the main Sierra crest and the range to the east, so Tahoe is neither a blown-out...

Q 04/05

Lake Tahoe is the largest lake of which kind in North America?

A) Alpine

B) Volcanic

C) Glacial

D) Spring-fed

Answer · why

A) Alpine

Alpine. Its surface sits 6,225 feet above the sea, yet the lake is so deep that its floor lies lower than the Nevada valley just across the mountains.

Q 05/05

The Washoe people, Lake Tahoe's original inhabitants, traditionally gathered on its shores during which season?

A) Spring

B) Summer

C) Autumn

D) Winter

Answer · why

B) Summer

Summer. Families fished and hunted by the lake in the warm months, then moved off to gather pine nuts in the fall and wintered in the lower valleys.