An Integrated Watershed Approach to Studying Ecosystem Health at Lake Tahoe, CA–NV

• Published in: Managing for Healthy Ecosystems pp. 1283 - 1298
• Main Authors: Reuter, John E., Cahill, Thomas A., Cliff, Steven S., Goldman, Charles R., Heyvaert, Alan C., Jassby, Alan D., Lindstrom, Susan, Rizzo, David M.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: United Kingdom CRC Press 2003; Taylor & Francis Group
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: CIVIL ENGINEERING, SURVEYING & BUILDING; ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY; Lake Tahoe Basin; Codling Moth; Tahoe Basin; Prairie Ecozone; CALFED Bay Delta Program; Yellow Star Thistle; Meteorological Regime; Dry Fallout; Direct Runoff; Sediment Chronology; Langat Basin; Secchi Depth Transparency; Historical Wildfire; Growth Restoration; Secchi Depth; Bark Beetle; Atmospheric Deposition; Lake Tahoe; Incense Cedar; Hydraulic Residence Time; Direct Atmospheric Deposition; Jeffrey Pine
• DOI: 10.1201/9781420032130-146
• ISBN: 1566706122; 9781566706124

Lake Tahoe lies in the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains at an elevation of 1898 m within both California and Nevada. The drainage area is 812 km2 with a lake surface of 501 km2, producing a ratio of only 1.6:1 (Figure 123.1). This ratio is much smaller than the 10:1 ratio found for typical watersheds. The lake is located in a montane-subalpine watershed dominated by coniferous vegetation and nutrient-poor soils. It is the world’s 11th deepest lake at approximately 505 m with a mean depth of 313 m. Its volume is 156 km3, with a hydraulic residence time of about 650 to 700 years, and is ice-free.