Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada and staddles the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, and trails only the five Great Lakes as the largest by volume in the United States. Its depth is 1,645 ft making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake in Oregon.

The lake was formed about two million years ago as part of the Lake Tahoe Basin, and its modern extent was shaped during the ice ages. It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides.