Earth from Space - Image Description

STS040-80-16 Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, U.S.A. June 1991
The dark blue waters of Lake Tahoe are emphasized in this low-oblique, southwest-looking photograph of a world-famous resort and recreational area. Lake Tahoe is 22 miles (35 kilometers) long and 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide, and it covers 193 square miles (500 square kilometers) on the California-Nevada border. The lake occupies a basin in the forested Sierra Nevada Range, which has snow covering the higher peaks. The lake lies at an altitude of 6228 feet (1900 meters) above sea level; at 1645 feet (502 meters), it is rather deep for a small lake. The Truckee River drains the lake at its northwest end. Visible are irrigated agricultural fields (green) east of Lake Tahoe; Loon Lake west of Lake Tahoe; and Union Valley Reservoir, with its exposed shoreline indicating lowered water levels, southwest of Loon Lake.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.