LAKE TAHOE
Tahoe is another of the Indian names whose meaning can not be ascertained with any degree of certainty. The definition “Big Water,” the one usually given, is considered doubtful by ethnologists. The statement has been made by intelligent Indians now living on the banks of the lake that the word, pronounced Dá-o by them, means “deep” and “blue.” Yet it is much to know that this pearl among all lakes has at least been fortunate enough to receive an indigenous name, escaping by a narrow margin the ignominious fate of being called Lake Bigler, for a former governor of the state. It appears that Fremont was the first to give to this body of water a name, and it is shown upon his map under the rather indefinite title of Mountain Lake. Afterward it was known for a short time as Lake Bigler. The story goes that in 1859 Dr. Henry de Groot, while exploring the mountains, learned that tah-oo-ee meant “a great deal of water,” and from this Tahoe was evolved as an appropriate name, but did not become attached to the lake until the period of the Civil War. During that time the Reverend Thomas Starr King, the famous “war” clergyman of San Francisco, visited the lake, and inspired by indignation against the Democratic Governor Bigler, whom he regarded as a secessionist, he definitely christened it Tahoe, for which we may be grateful to his memory, regardless of the motives by which he was actuated.
Tahoe is partly in Placer, and partly in El Dorado, at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, a portion of its waters also extending into the state of Nevada. It is twenty-two miles long and ten wide, and has an elevation of 6225 feet above sea level. It is especially remarkable for its great depth, being over 1500 feet deep.