Figures 1 - 4: Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada border, Western US

Shaded colors of satellite topography indicate elevation. 100 ft contour interval. The blue shaded region in Fig. 1 indicates lake surface. Fig. 2 is a bathymetric map of the lake. Drainage basin divides running roughly N-S are likely border faults. The eastern margin is much steeper than the western margin (Fig. 2-4). Abundant fluvial valleys exist on the western margin and on the southern (rift-axial) margin, and are not as abundant on eastern steep margin. Core and submersible data suggest that an extensive lacustrine system existed in the western part of the lake during Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene, prior to the formation of the modern depocenter (Lopez, 2004). The northern margin is composed of andesitic intrusions following faults, which bisected and dammed a northern fluvial valley (Babcock). During glacial periods, the southern fluvial system was periodically dammed causing fluctuations of lake level of as much as 800 feet above modern lake level (Babcock). Ice-damming in several bays is attributed to be the cause for some boulder-sized debris flows (Babcock).