Ecosystem

Lake Tahoe is a large lake found north of the City of South Lake Tahoe in El Dorado, California. Not only is it a large lake but it is the largest in fact, in the entire region of North America. From the moment that its existence came to be known on 1844 to the silver rush of Comstock Lode in the later part of the 1800s to the industrialization and commercialization of its surrounding areas to the present time, the ecosystem of Lake Tahoe has faced and is facing several challenges as tourism and commercialism threatens to unhinged its once well-balanced state.

Aside from being very large, the Lake Tahoe is also quite deep and is considered as the second deepest lake in the United States. Lake Tahoe is called a basin lake and the snow and ice melting from the Sierra Nevada Mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe flow into the many streams which then flow and spill to the Lake Tahoe Basin. It is interesting to note that although the water in Lake Tahoe comes from several streams, it is only by means of the Truckee River that water from the Lake Tahoe is drained.

Before the very first pair of European explorers discovered Lake Tahoe and settlers established lodgings in the area including the region that would soon be South Lake Tahoe, the ecosystem of the lake was brimming with life. The Washoe tribes which were groups of American Indians once lived along the perimeter of the lake yet they believe the lake to be home to several nature gods, in fact other though it to be a nature deity itself, that they respected it and caused no harm to the natural ecosystem of the area.

However, during the late 1800s when the Comstock Lode silver mining industry peaked and gold-diggers from all parts of the country started swarming to Comstock Lode, Nevada. The ecosystem and natural environment of Lake Tahoe which was a neighbor to Comstock Lode suffered deforestation and pollution due to the construction of inns, railways, roads and other products of industrialization.

Later on, many species of pine trees which were prone to fires were replaced to prevent forest fires. The activities occurring on the lake also brought tremendous chance to the plankton and algae content of the water which many marine species in the lake eat.

It was recorded that Lake Tahoe is home to an ecosystem comprised of more than 200 bird species, some of which are migratory and others are residents in the area. These include such birds like the California Spotter Owl, Golden Eagle, Northern Goshawk and even the Bald Eagle. There are also around 59 species of mammals, 10 reptiles, 5 amphibians and more than a hundred species of insects living in the Lake Tahoe area not to mention an unbelievable variety of marine species.

What many people seem to forget when thinking about Lake Tahoe is that this glistening blue surface of water that is nestled between mountains and pine forests is not a mere tourist attraction but a living, thriving home to an ecosystem that existed and inhabited it even before the first human beings found out there was such as place as Lake Tahoe. Hopefully, further human-made actions that would compromise the ecosystem of Lake Tahoe would be avoided in the future.