Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-04-14
OUR NEWEST NATIONAL PARK
1T COMPRISES THE LAKE TAHOE
REGION IN CALIFORNIA.
Abounds with Scenic Beauties - De-
scription of Some of Its Principai
Features and Attractions.


out visit to CaHfornia's new National
Park This recent addition to the public
domain was defined by the President $
procIarna ton of April. 1850. to emb' ace III
$40 acres of that portion of the eastern
slope of the Sierra Nevadas known as the
Lake Tahoe region
The territory thus outlined consists of
three townships of Ell Dorado and Alpine
counties. including the lake proper and the
rare and varied characteristics which con-
stitute its southern and western shores.
Splintered pinnacle and fssured wall grand
Old mountain forests, whose scattered
ranks Of Snow-bound jumpers are the last
L. quit the timber line. wealth of fern and
floral beauty, and vast system OF trlDu-
tary Iakes-these are but a few of the
uriuue features which justly ent1tle this
unsurpassed but sequeStered spot to the
distinction thus conferred. thereby insurins
for the future protection and preservation
OF its grandeur and lOVel!ness.
Arriving at Tahoe city, the broad, Diue.
Elltttrins expaaSe Of famous Tahoe greets
The eye Of the b@hnider with an ejaculation
of surprise: for much As its praises have
been sung and its cOioriaS attempted, pen
and brush and verbal utteTance all fail TO
convey an adequate idea of TINS peerless
Jewel If SIerra's crown and the grandeur
and mystery which brood above, beneath
and around its crystal water. Through this
objects can be seen for over hundred feet
as distinctly as through tinted glass, so
that in gliding over the surface in a boat
ous seems to he suspended in midalr by d
mere line, while in its calmcst mood the
great, ragged peaks, viz. FIeels, 1o.s4J feet:
Jobs. 1p.tS}T feet; Tallacs. 9,ISJ feet; the
Rubicons. 92s4 feet, and Ralston. 9i4o feet,
frequently snow-capped and standing out
in livid outline under radiant sky refiec-
ton. are reproduced as in mirror, on Its
bosom.
Aside from the Incompatible grandeur
of these cloud effects as witnessed at dawn
and sunset on lake and surrounding crestS
there are other remarkable phenomena con-
nected with Tahoe which may be stated as
follows
Its tributaries are mostly internal. while
Pyramid lake, Nevada, into which 1t flows
by means of the Truckee river, as mas
been intimated, has no known outlet Also
that despite the fact that it has an ele-
walton of $50 feet above sea level, is sur
rounded by snow mountains. and during
the long winter season by ice-lOcked lakes.
it has never been known 10 freeze. another
phase not less remarkable is that its pure
waters, as cold as the SHOWS whence they
spring, and as exceptional IN their pre-
sentative chemical properties, have never
been known To give mp their dead Inc
silence Of the Sphinx pervades the unex-
plored abysseS Of Tahoe. and its haplesS
victims drift by strong suction into deeps
which We are told have never yet Deen
sounded by a plummet line though 2,ro
feet have been recorded as the maximum
depth.
Under a clear sky these unfathomed sub
marine SDTSGS are indicated on lIIS SUI IciNC
by the densest indigo blue color. an untall-
ing sign which is ever needed by the pru-
dent oarsman. while delicate emerald green
tiuts of the most shallow water, brilliant
peacock blues and vivid puppies play in
shimmering ripples over this deeper hue
with changing Splendor.
A record shows that twenty-six bodies
have been lost in the enticing but treacher-
Gus currents of this lake during the past
thirty years. but experienced beatsmen VINO
have pulled an oar on its surface during
calm ana storm for many years have never
had occasion to doubt the safety of their
fiat-bottamed skiffs, and contend that the
only DANCE and the only accidents that
have ever happened here are in and have
been due to the capsizing of saii boats. vi
late years these sturdy but 1.-the little row.
boats. painted in a variety of colors, ana
which a child can manage with ease and
safety. have been used for boating and fish
ing with the most satisfactory results, and,
aside from the regular lake steamers,
which during the season make their daily
six hours run from Tahoe City to Glen
brook and return for the transportation of
mail. freight and passengers, they are the
only crafts on Tahoe now in vogue.
In making this circuit of the lake some of
the most delightful watering places can he
found scattered along its shores their ami
mated environments during he midsummer
months presenting . radical contrast to the
silent. deserted waste that prevails here
during seven months Of the year. For be
il remembered that most Of that time the
STOW measures from thirty to fifty feet
and all the wafer sources are clad in winter
armor. except the pale, defiant face of the
great lake itself
A place called McKinney's. which is eight
miles from Tahoe City, and from twelve to
fourteen miles across from Glenbrook. af-
furIS the most comprehensive view to be
had Of the lake from west to east, and
Tallac. on the southern bend. gives the
sweep il length, which is twenty-five miles
Mirror Bay. Quail Lake, Rubicon Springs
and Rubicon Point all offer their specific
Tr,+ II
of 2u0 feet. below which the water meas
ures l GOO feet in depth, and is the only
portion IF the lake where the intense blue
color touches the shore.
Leaving the lake border by a daily stage
that makes a seven-mile run south of
Tallac. We find the heart of the reserva-
ton. at an elevation of $3.50 feet and in
what has proven to be one of the most
remarkable gorges In the high Sierras
cool. effcryescing. medicinal spring bubbles
up through an opening in the rocky floor
hence the name, Glen Alpine Springs"
In this canyon and on its surrounding
walls tn. wonders wrought by the old ice
king in the glacial period are told in glyph
and in fission- Wild. weird and majestic
the torn peaks rise in the clear atmosphere.
shoulder of Mount TalIac on one side and
AngoTa Peak on the other riotous
stream leaps along the irregular decline of
a massive boWlder deposit jutting into the
glen. and mingles it's reverberatious with
the low monotone of the pines as it wends
It's way ever the path made by a glacier
that flowed eastward out of this gorge for
a distance of three miles finding its ter
minal depression on the south shore of
Fallen Leaf Lake" A more fitting snot
for Its drainage and final extinction could
not have been chosen by nature than that
overlooking this blue sheet OF water three
miles long and half wide an ideal rem
devious for the poet, the artist the scien-
fist and the angler. epitaph more eIo-
quent than this significant moraine, whose
sheltered base Of crumbling granite chem
icai action has converted into a soil es
pecially adapted TO the growth and bloom
o. the fragrant regal, saow-white Sierra
Lily
At Glen Alpine saddle trails are taken for
the upper lakes. for Ralston Dome Angora
Pyramid. Crystal and Richardson peaks
and DesolatiOn valley. and the magnitude
of the panorama Witnessed from them is
impressive beyond description Though
Freefs leads in altitude the other peaks
of this vicinity, ii offers in outlook but lit
tie advantage over Mount TaIIac which Is
more accessible. From this eminence on
clear day. can be seen the various resorts
on the lake shore that accent its points and
curves, but viewed at this distance tbe
shore line presents an almost perfect oval
through which the state line runs giving
approximately two-thirds to California and
the remainder to Nevada
In this bird's-eye view the only Irregular
ity noticeable IS where Emerald bay makes