Independence Lake.
This beautiful lake is nineteen miles distant from Truckee, and is reached by stage or carriage. It is three miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide. The lake was named by Lola Montez (when a resident of Grass Valley, California) on the occasion of a visit to it on a picnic excursion, July 4, 1853. It is held up toward the heavens to a height of 7,000 feet by a circle of grand old peaks. It is very deep, and in places has never been fathomed. Owing to its great depth, the lake is supposed to occupy an extinct volcanic crater, whereas Donner Lake was formed by a moraine deposited across the valley by a glacier. The lake is alive with trout of a peculiar species, a good deal resembling brook trout, and for which they are often sold. The surrounding scenery is as wildly beautiful as the imagination can picture. From the peak of Mount Lola, 4 miles north of the lake and 11,000 feet high, can be seen Mount Shasta, distant 180 miles to the northward; Mount Diablo, 140 miles distant; all Sacramento Valley, and scores of peaks of note in all directions. There is a hotel at the lake and good accommodations of all kinds. Bear, deer, and grouse are to be found in the chaparral, mountain glades, and pine forests. The lake has an outlet which is the head of one of the principal branches of the Little Truckee.