Tahoe Lore: Underneath the Surface

Lake Tahoe is an interesting area not only for its allure of crystal clear water, majestic mountains, lush forest, and awe-inspiring landscapes, but its history, legends, and lore add to its natural mystique.

For starters, the lake is unusually situated on the crest of where the Nevada high desert meets the forest of the Sierra Nevadas, and it is part of an endorheic basin , or watersheds that do not drain to the sea.

Most lakes and rivers eventually shed into an ocean, but in the case of Lake Tahoe, the only outlet is through the Truckee River to Pyramid Lake.

The river curiously starts in the north west corner of the lake, runs north through Truckee, north east down the mountains, through Reno, and eventually to Pyramid Lake. This alone is the origin of many ancient folktales and stories.

The area in brown is the Great Basin, an endorheic basin.

Two of which are the stories of the water babies and the underground water tunnels that connect the two lakes. The water babies are spirits of the lake that drown unsuspecting victims, one of the reasons why Native Americans would never swim in the lakes.

There’s also the story of the Ong , one of the most prevalent Native American legends of the lake.

“The Ong was a huge bird, greater than the houses of the white men. Its body was like the eagle's, and its wings were longer than the tallest pines. Its face was that of an Indian, but covered with hard scales, and its feet were webbed. Its nest was deep down in the bottom of the lake out in the center, and out of the nest rushed all of the waters which filled the lake. There are no rivers to feed the lake, only the waters from the Ong's nest.”

This is an excerpt from a story published by the Sierra Sun in 1905. The story is supposedly told through Nonette V. Mcglashan who learned of it through Elizabeth May, who was a Native American foster child of the family.

The legend goes on to tell the story of the Native American Chief’s daughter, and the rights to marry her.

A young man, whom the daughter loved, was not selected as her groom, and on a fateful day he saw the Ong come out of the water and attack. It was thought that he died with the Ong, but the chief’s daughter rode her canoe out the the center of the lake.

Miraculously, they both return, riding the wing of the Ong like a canoe, and the young man won the rights to marry the daughter.

Other stories from the depths include legends about Tahoe Tessie, a lochness-type creature that lurks in the shadows. This may have come about from some of the massive lake trout that thrive in the expansive waters.

Or the slew of bodies dressed in early 20th century fashion, perfectly preserved in the cold, dark water with their eyes still open. The lake refuses to give up her dead.

Or the countless ghost stories in the casinos from Marilyn Monroe to Frank Sinatra’s secret passages. There’s also the filming of the Godfather Part II on the West Shore of the lake, and the area where Michael sent Fredo to sleep with the fishes.

There’s also the story of Jacques Cousteau, which has been debunked, which alleges that the French Naval Officer once visited the bottom of Lake Tahoe, never released his findings, and on his deathbed, made his children swear that they will never release anything.

However, this has been proved untrue because Cousteau never actually visited the lake, but it made the legends of the bottom of Lake Tahoe even stronger.

The character of George Whittle is also the source of many Lake Tahoe legends .

Whittle built the Thunderbird Lodge that still stands today on the east shore near Sand Harbor. He was an isolated millionaire who allegedly threw extravagant parties with other millionaires and show girls of the time.

He was also a gambler who loved playing poker, and legend has it that he lost the area now known as King’s Beach in a poker game with Joe King. However, this has been debunked because he never actually owned that area, but he very well could’ve lost enough money to King to buy the area.

You can now tour the Thunderbird Lodge.

From ancient legends to contemporary mysteries, Lake Tahoe continues to inspire wonder and fascination.