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Here's a few mysterious facts sorounding the Lake Tahoe area

The State of California would be completely covered with water to a depth of 14 ½ 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 ½ inches. There are 63 tributaries draining into Lake Tahoe with only one outlet, the Truckee River in Tahoe City. The original Dam was built in 1870 at the mouth of Tahoe's only outlet. The Gatekeeper's Cabin is now a museum. With a surface area of only 193 sq. miles (70 of which are in Nevada) Lake Tahoe contains 122,160,280 acre feet of water, or over 30,000,000 more acre feet than the combined capacities of ten of the largest man made reservoirs in the US. Lake Mead is backed up 227 miles by Hoover Dam into the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River and is considered to be one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Tahoe contains nearly four times the maximum capacity of Lake Mead. Tahoe's greatest depth is 1645 feet, Lake Tahoe is the highest lake of its size in the US. Only Oregon's Crater Lake is deeper at 1930 feet. On average 1,400,000 tons of water evaporates from the surface of Lake Tahoe every 24 hours, yet this drops the lake level only one tenth of an inch. The total evaporation averages more per day than the water released through the Truckee River Dam outlet. Lake Tahoe never freezes over due to the constant mass movement of water from the bottom to the top. In February of 1989, Emerald Bay froze over for the first time since 1952. Facts & Statistics of Lake Tahoe Elevation: 6229 feet Length: 22 miles - Width: 12 miles Shoreline: 71 miles (calif. 42miles - Nev. 29miles) Storage:122,160,280 acre ft. of water. Surface Area: 193 sq. miles or 122,200 acres (Cal. 85,200 acres - 70%)(Nev. 31,700 acres -30%) Water Shed - 519 miles. Maximum Depth: 1645 feet Average Depth: 989 feet Surface Water Temperatures: Max 68 degrees and Min.41degrees. Water Temp. at 200 feet: Max. 47 and Min. 41degrees. Average Annual Rainfall: 8.3 inches. Average Annual Snowfall: 216 inches or 18 feet. Total Annual Precipitation: 30 inches. The Donner Party, was a group of emigrants traveling to California who in 1846-47 met with tragedy. The party, named for its two Donner families, was trapped by snow in Oct. 1846 in the Sierra Nevada near what is today called the Donner Pass. The survivors resorted to cannibalism before their rescue, and only about half of the original party of 87 reached California. A relief expedition reaches the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada February 19, 1847 and finds evidence of cannibalism. Trapped for 3 months by heavy snows in the worst winter ever, the wagon train has lost 12 members to starvation; 46 of the original 87 will ultimately survive. Frank Sinatra, Jr., at the age of 19, was kidnapped from a hotel room in Lake Tahoe, Cal., Dec. 8, 1963. He was released Dec. 11 after his father paid $240,000 ransom. Three men were caught and sentenced to prison. Cave Rock was the scene of battles between Washoe and Paiute Indians over Tahoe's fishing and hunting grounds. It is rumored to be above the underwater home of Tahoe Tessie, The Lake Tahoe Monster.)

The Washoe Indians used to throw thier deceased off the cliff known as Cave Rock. Rumour has it that large numbers of spirits have been known to appear as if they are performing a tribal ritual. It is also known that the Washoe used Cave Rock as very sacred area.

There has also been reports of a large creature living in the waters of Lake Tahoe that the locals have named"Tahoe Tessie". There has been a number of reported sightings through out the long history of the lake since the discovery of the Tahoe basin. Some people think Tessie is a large sturgeon. Jaques Cousteau headed an expedition to the lakes supposed bottom. Mr. Cousteau never revieled his findings/film footage;he said "the world wasn't ready" for what was down there! I wonder what he had seen that made him decide not to share his findings with anyone. I sure would like to see that film for myself! How about you?

UFO sighted near Lake Tahoe!!!

aprox. 1230 am , may 25th...

my boss Ed was driving to work on highway 395 soon to make a right turn on kingsbury grade when something passed over his car from behind him.

he said it passed over and that it was round and was dark blue with flouresent green underneath. Ed said it took off like a bullet after it passed over his car, and then vanished out of sight! Ed is a very reliable witness; he was afraid to report this because he knew the police would think he was crazy. I have no doubt in my mind he was telling the truth. Aparenly there has been a few UFO sightings in and around lake tahoe recently! You decide for yourself. I'm looking to the sky a little bit more seriously now!

UFO sighted in myers!
Occurred : 11/17/1998 04:30 (Entered as : 11/17/98 04:30) Reported : 11/30/1998 18:36 Posted : 12/15/1998 Location : south lake tahoe california (meyers, CA Shape : Disk@ approx. 4;30 AM MY SISTER IN LAW WAS UP DOING SOME LATE NIGHT PAPER WORK WHEN HER ATTENTION WAS GOTTEN BY A BRIGHT LIGHT IN THE SKY. AS SHE WENT TO THE WINDOW SHE SAW THIS LIGHT DECEND THEN HOVER. IT MADE NO NOISE AND HAD A BRIGHT RED LIGHT IN THE CENTER. SHE WATCHED AS IT MOVED OFF AND DISAPEARED. 10 MINS. LATER SHE WAS SHOCKED WHEN A WHITE LIGHT COMPLETELY ENGULFED THE HOUSE AND YARD. THE LIGHT MADE HER HAIR STAND UP!! SHE WENT TO THE BEDROOM TO WAKE MY BROTHER AND HE WOKE UP TO SEE THE LIGHT DEPARTING. MY SISTER IN LAW CLEARLY STARTLED CHECKED ON HER YOUNG CHILD AND FOUND EVERY THING NORMAL THESE PEOPLE WERE SOME OF THE MOST SKEPTICAL PEOPLE @ UFO,S UNTIL NOW.THEY TOLD ME ABOUT IT BECAUSE OF MY PAST EXPERIENCES WITH THE SUBJECT.MY NIECE TELLS THEM SHE SEES THEM ALL THE TIME ( NO BIG DEAL !! ) ?????

UFO sighted near Lake Tahoe!
Occurred : 5/24/1997 20:00 (Entered as : May 24, 1997 approx. 20:00) Reported : 6/27/1997 07:15 Posted : 1/28/1999 Location : near Lake Tahoe, CA Shape : Summary : A "formation" of very bright lights passing very slowly and silently overhead. Must have been enormous. Biggest and most unusual thing I have ever seen. I am writing about a "phenomenon" that I witnessed that was unlike anything I've ever seenbefore, so I guess it would fall under the description of a "UFO". As a scientist with areasonable understanding of astronomy and meteorology, and with an equally good knowledgeof aircraft (both military and civilian), I can safely say that what my colleague and I witnessedwas something that I'm sure would not fall into most of the easily explainable categories. On aclear night during the Memorial Day weekend (24th of May), I saw something that lookedabsolutely enormous moving across the sky in a westerly direction. Since all I could see werethe lights to this thing (very bright white lights), I couldn't make out the shape precisely.What was even more puzzling was that the lights seemed to move, ever so slightly, withrespect to each other, but it was definitely not a "formation" of any kind of aircraft like I hadever seen. Although I couldn't guage the exact size of the object since I didn't know whataltitude it was at (although I would guess it was pretty high), it appeared to be bigger thananything I've ever seen flying before, maybe several times the size of a jumbo jet. There wasabsolutely no noise and it seemed to be moving very slowly. We were on a little stretch ofroad between Lake Tahoe and Interstate 80 and there were a lot of stars out, so I'd be reallysurprized if others in the Lake Tahoe area didn't spot these strange lights, also. Have youreceived any reports of sightings like this in this part of the country? Because of my job, I amhesitant to "go public" with this kind of information, so I would appreciate it if you didn'tpublish my name or email address. Please let me know if anyone is aware of any really strangemilitary exercises going on in this area.

Much of the early history of the Washoe has been lost but conjecture is that they originated among the coastal tribes of California and either migrated of were forced to move east to the areas surrounding Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California border. When the Washoe's history does get documented (AIA, 389-391), the story is not a pretty one. The Washoe's lands around Lake Tahoe lay directly in then path of the the California Gold Rush of the1850s. Being a small tribe, they never had a chance to withstand the onslaught of greedy gold miners. Many were killed and others driven off their lands just so easterners could dig for gold. As if that was not bad enough, in 1857, silver was found in Nevada right in the midst of their remaining lands. This was the famous Comstock lode. What little the Washoe had was stolen and in those days Native Americans had no rights or protections and no recourse but to accept their fate. The combination of the two rushes left the Washoe as beggars scrounging for food in the municipal dumps of towns like Carson City and Reno - towns built on what had been their homeland. Today the Washoe of California and Nevada occupy a series of small "colonies" in Nevada and reside off these reservations in both states. The Nevada "colonies" include the Alpine Colony (80 acres), the Carson Colony (160 acres, 248 residents), the Dresslerville Colony (40 acres, 152 residents), the Sparks Colony (28 acres, 264 residents). The Woodsford Colony (580 acres) is on the California side of the border (AID, 41). All these colonies are governed by a single Tribal Council based in Gardnersville, Nevada. The Washoe share a single flag as well. The flag is dark blue and bears the seal of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California in gold and blue in the center (seal provided by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California). The seal depicts the geography, flora and fauna of the lands of the Washoe. With a backdrop of mountains, the foreground is filled with three main sources of sustenance for the ancient Washoe - the Pinon pine, the salmon and the deer. At the base of the seal are two crossed eagle feathers for the two states that play home to the Washoe nation today.

a letter To ltghosthunters: Ok, My friend Emily took a picture in her house of her friend once. In the picture there is like a misty cloudy object in the picture. I heard on TV and read in books that some ghosts are visable by camera and look like clouds or mist? And, we can see a shape of a woman holding something in the picture...Is this just our imagination, or is it a ghost? Also, have you ever been to Fair Field Hills in Newtown Connecticut...It was a mental hospital thazts abandand now. It has tunnels that are said to be haunted beneeth it. Anyway, HELP!!

Lake Tahoe was the center of the Washoe land and the center of the Washoe view of the world. They went there every spring and summer to fish and gather plants. They did not "own" the land the way most of us understand it today. But the Washoe and the other tribes in the area knew where each tribe hunted, fished, gathered, and lived at different times of the year, and they respected and stayed out of, and sometimes shared each other's land. Three different groups, or bands, of Washoe made their camps in different areas when they separated after spending the summer at Lake Tahoe. The 'Hung-a-lel-ti are the southern Washoe. The 'Pau-wa-lu are the eastern Washoe, or the people of the valley. The 'Wel-mel-ti are the northern Washoe. The southern Washoe live in the Woodfords area of California. The eastern Washoe live in the Carson Valley. The northern Washoe live north and northeast of Lake Tahoe. Wa-'she-shu is the name for all of the Washoe people.

Lake Tahoe linked to surounding lakes by underwater caves/tunnels?

story to be added soon!!

Bigfoot sightings in Tahoe?

My name is --omitted--, I've been keeping this secret since around 1986 and didn't know who I could tell without sounding like a nut, but it's been bothering me, and I hope you are the appropriate person to contact regarding this matter. Here is what my wife and I saw. During the late summer of 1986 my wife Mary and I were driving east on highway 50 heading toward Lake Tahoe at about 11:30 p.m. We were about 25 to 30 miles west of Lake Tahoe when we approached an S curve. As we made a right turn, the road curved toward a mountainside and then turned away to the left. While making the right turn however, our headlights were facing the side of a hill and something else, we were not prepared for. About 40 yards directly in front of us, we saw a huge hairy man like creature walking along the side of this hill at the roadside our headlights were directly on it and there was no mistaking what we saw at that distance, as we made the left turn away from the hill the thing disappeared in the darkness. My wife and I stared off ahead, and as we drove a short distance, both turned to look at each other and we said, "did you see that" I knew I hadn't imagined it, because she saw it too. Now the problem was who we could tell without sounding crazy, so we never told a soul, but I've been searching for the right person to tell because it's been eating at me for all these years, I hope you are the person I've been seeking. Thank you in advance, and by the way, just so there is no question about my sanity, I am a sworn peace officer for the state of California, and just telling you this could ruin my reputation and make me the butt of jokes for the next ten years. -Name Withheld by Request.

I've been recieving alot of mail regarding this phenomenon; and love recieving anything about Tahoe(folklore,ghosts,ufo's,exct.) If you're planning a visit to Lake Tahoe; check out my links page(enjoy!).

keep checking back for more stories as I add them to our page!

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