It doesn’t happen all that often but we do get earthquakes in Lake Tahoe. They tend to be short rumbles and the epicenters in the past have been in Truckee or North. However, today, April 25th around 8:30am we had the biggest one I have ever felt since living in North Lake Tahoe for 20+ years. It was a 3.8 and the epicenter was about 1.3 miles under the lake and about 7km (one source says 7 miles) off of Dollar Point in Tahoe City. As they say there is a first for everything.
In December 12, 2012 Becky Oskin wrote an article on livescience.com about the history of Tahoe Earthquakes and that we are overdue for one.
http://Tsunamis, Earthquakes Overdue in Lake Tahoe
Here is a map showing the faults in and surrounding Lake Tahoe. Three major fault lines run beneath Lake Tahoe according to the USGS. The largest, the West Tahoe Fault that runs along the lakes west shore passing through Fallen Leaf Lake, is “capable of producing a magnitude-7.3 earthquake and tsunamis up to 30 feet high in the clear blue lake,” the federal agency says
Did someone say Tsunami?? Yes it is thought that about 10,000-20,000 years ago a Tsunami did happen based on the landscapes that can be seen on different shorelines.
Here is an excerpt from an article from the Tahoe Daily Tribune in January 9, 2021.
“Schweickert has been collecting evidence for over 15 years that have helped piece together the tsunami theory.
In 1999, the idea of one or more large tsunamis hitting Lake Tahoe first took fruition by Dr. Mary Lahren when she and Schweickert were mapping on land near Eagle Rock close to Homewood.
While a specific date is the hardest to pinpoint, it is estimated that a tsunami hit Lake Tahoe about 10,000 – 20,000 years ago after a massive earthquake shook the basin.
Over the years more evidence inspired researchers to dig deeper into what may have taken place in the region, including several faults that had never before been mapped.
In 1998, Jim Gardner at the United States Geological Survey released a detailed map. Jim Moore of USGS began a collaboration with Schweickert in 2005.
The map showed the landslide that occurred at McKinney Bay along with several other indicators that all point to the tsunami theory. “
For the entire article go to:
https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/tsunami-research-ongoing-at-lake-tahoe/