Lake Tahoe is a vast lake running north to south divided in the middle, half in California and half in Nevada. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m) and I’ve read that if you tipped Lake Tahoe on its side, it would cover the state of California to a depth of 8 inches.
It is surrounded by National Forest and ski resorts in the mountains rimming it. Recently the Tahoe Rim Trail was completed allowing hikers to traverse the entire lake if they can do it.
For many centuries, the local Washoe Native American tribe had considered the lake to be a spiritual center, conducting sacred ceremonies along its shores. The Washoes named the area “Da-ow-a-ga,” or “edge of the Lake.” when American explorers Kit Carson and John Fremont came upon it in 1844, they misinterpreted the phrase to be “Tahoe.” The government of California and Nevada have attempted to change the name of the lake several times, but Tahoe has remained and today that is its official name.