Elevation: 6,229 feet above sea level
Size: 22 miles long by 12 miles wide
Shoreline: 72 miles (CA: 43 miles, NV: 29 miles)
Water Storage: 122,160,280 acre-feet
Surface area: 191 square miles, or 122,100 square acres (CA: 70%, NV: 30%)
Maximum depth: 1,645 feet
Average depth: 989 feet
Surface water temperature: 68�F maximum, 41�F minimum
Water temperature at 200 feet: 47�F maximum, 41�F minimum
Average annual rainfall: 8.3 inches
Average annual snowfall: 216 inches or 18 feet
Total annual precipitation: 30 inches
Average July temperature: 79�F high, 43�F low
Average January temperature: 36�F high, 16�F low
With a surface area of only 193 square miles (70 of which are in Nevada), Lake Tahoe contains 122,160,280 acre feet of water, or over 30,000,000 more feet than the connected capacities of 10 of the largest manmade reservoirs in the United States.
The Panama Canal averages 700 feet in width and 50 feet in depth, yet such a canal could be filled by Lake Tahoe's water and extend completely around the earth at the Equator, with enough remaining in the Lake to fill another channel of the same width and depth running from San Francisco to New York.
The State of California would be completely covered to a depth of 12-1/2 inches, with one dispersion of Lake Tahoe's water, and Texans can pride themselves on the fact that their extensive Lone Star State could only be covered to a depth of 8-1/2 inches.
On average, 1,400,000 tons of water evaporate from the surface of Lake Tahoe every 24 hours. If the water that evaporates from the Lake every 24 hours could be recovered, it would supply the daily requirements of 3,500,000 people.
Lake Tahoe never freezes over due to the constant movement of the water from the bottom to the surface. This "turnover" allows an enormous mass movement of water, and keeps the Lake ice-free. However, ice may form at times along the shoreline in small, protected inlets, and on rare occasions, Emerald Bay has sported a coating of ice for short periods.
There are 63 tributaries draining into Lake Tahoe with only one outlet, the Truckee River. Lake Tahoe is the highest lake of its size in the United States. Only two lakes in North America are deeper than Lake Tahoe, Crater Lake in Oregon (1,930 feet) and the Great Slave Lake in Canada (2,010 feet). The water in Lake Tahoe is 99.7% pure.
The Lake is home to many fish: Mountain Trout, Rainbow Trout, German Brown Trout, Speckled Trout, Mackinaw Trout, Mountain Whitefish and Kokanee Salmon.
There are 22 ski resorts around the Lake for both downhill and cross-country skiing. There are more ski lifts in the Tahoe Basin than in the entire state of Colorado.
