Lake Tahoe is completely full for the first time in five years, according to U.S. officials.
Lake Tahoe, a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains between California and Nevada, is the sixth largest lake in the U.S., the largest alpine lake in North America and the second deepest lake in the U.S. after Crater Lake in Oregon.
A U.S. Geological Survey gauge in the lake recently recorded a water level reading of 6,228.9 feet. The maximum is 6,229 feet. It means it is now full for the first time since 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Nevada Water Outlook Supply Report, which was also released by the department, predicted on May 1 that the lake would fill.
The report said that snowmelt would be sufficient to fill the lake this spring. Lake Tahoe has 63 tributaries—rivers and streams that flow into a large river or lake—and these have pumped snowmelt into it, both lowering the temperature of the lake while also filling it up.