Introduction to South Lake Tahoe

South Lake Tahoe, a city within the El Dorado County in California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with its alpine lake surrounded by pines has truly earned its moniker as the “Jewel of the Sierras”. Located on the South Shore of the largest alpine lake in all of America, South Lake Tahoe is also truly ideal for both business and play, as well as being the perfect location for families to settle in. South Lake Tahoe is also the only incorporated community in the entire area of the Lake Tahoe Basin, making the city a central hub for the booming tourism industry in and around the region.

The history of the entire area of Lake Tahoe began in 1844, when explorer John C. Fremont first saw the lake from the top of Red Lake Peak, now known as Carson Pass. He called the area Lake Bonpland, after a botanist. Later the name changed from Lake Bonpland to two other different names, Mountain Lake and Lake Bigler, with the latter taken after a former California Governor. The US Department of Interior eventually commissioned Dr. Henry Degroot, a noted journalist, to finalize a name for the lake and its surrounding area, to which he suggested the Indian name “Tahoe” that translates to “big water”. It took a while, literally decades, before Tahoe became the frequently used name, thanks to a California State Legislature in 1945.

The 1860s saw the area of Tahoe becoming a center of commerce, especially with the area's involvement with the silver mines in Virginia City where in1859 the Comstock Lode was discovered. Around this time, the Central Pacific Railroad was also pushing for its completion, and was going over the Sierra region towards a town named Truckee. With these factors plus a few more, progress was imminent and the area of Tahoe was bracing itself for the projected changes that it would undergo. Around that time in the span of Tahoe's existence, wood was extensively supplied to the mines leaving the entire shoreline area barren and scarred for decades, around until the early 1880's. Woodcutters clearcut the entire shore line, and left tourism as the only real viable means for a successful business. And thus began the gold rush to build resorts around the entire Lake Tahoe area.

Now, South Lake Tahoe last registered a population count of 23,609 in the 2000 census. Employment in the eastern part of the city is usually generated towards tourism, with the abundance of restaurants, hotels, shops, and Heavenly's Vail ski resorts, while the western end is predominantly a residential area. This is especially true around the area called “The Y, an intersection of US Highway 50, state highway 89, and Lake Tahoe Boulevard.

The entire community of South Lake Tahoe has been working hand in hand of late to redevelop their area, and open up their doors to more progress. Joining hands with other organizations like the Marriot Corporation and Heavenly's Vail Resorts, South Lake Tahoe is steadily on the path to progress, developing their area as a tourism giant, while at the same time maintaining their commitment to being a haven for their locals.