Lake Tahoe, CA Photo - Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe, California

Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At a surface elevation of 6,225 ft (1,897 m), it straddles the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the USA's second-deepest behind Crater Lake in Oregon. Additionally, Lake Tahoe is listed as the 26th largest lake by volume in the world at 122,160,280 acre ·ft (150.68249 km3). The lake was formed about 2 million years ago and is a part of the Lake Tahoe Basin. It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides.[6] The area surrounding the lake is also referred to as Lake Tahoe, or simply "Tahoe." Lake Tahoe is a tourist attraction in both Nevada and California. It is home to a number of ski resorts, summer outdoor recreation, and attractions, including several casinos on the Nevada side of the lake. Snow and skiing are a significant part of the area's economy and reputation.

Carol M. Highsmith (born 1946) is a photographer, author, and publisher who has photographed all 50 of the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for 30 years. She specializes in documenting architecture, ranging from the monumental to the everyday and whimsical. Highsmith is donating her life ’s work of more than 100,000 images, copyright-free, to the Library of Congress, which established a rare one-person archive. Out of 14 million images, the Carol M. Highsmith collection is featured in the top six alongside of Mathew Brady and Dorethea Lange.

Credit line: The Jon B. Lovelace Collection of California Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.