2. I decided to carryout my research assignment in Emerald Bay
largely because it gave me an opportunity to go jet skiing
for science. In 1969 it was designated a National Natural
Landmark for its brilliant panorama of mountain building
processes and glacier carved granite.
I did not use my cell phone for this one
3. Brief Geology
• The grandeur of the parks and their setting came from
successive upheavals of the mountain-building processes that
raised the Sierra Nevada. (Everytrail)
• Long after Lake Tahoe formed, huge glaciers in the Northern
Sierra Nevada created a number of lakes surrounding Lake
Tahoe. Sliding down V-shaped canyons on Lake Tahoe’s
western side, the glaciers scoured away rock and created
broad U-shaped valleys. (Geocaching)
• Once these valleys filled with snowmelt water, the resulting
elongated depressions are now known as Fallen Leaf
Lake, Emerald Bay, and Cascade Lake. (Geocaching)
4. • Geologists believe that the
Fannette Island granite resisted
the glacial ice. (Everytrail)
• There were two major
glaciations in this area - the
Tahoe and the Tiogan. When
these two glacier systems were
flowing, they were doing so
from about 9900 feet above sea
level. Now that is a lot of ice!
(Geocaching)
• The mountains were carved by
glaciers as evidenced by the
U-shaped valley and deposited
till around 1 million years ago
during the Cenozoic Era.
(Quake)
Brief Geology
5. Geological
Map Key
Geological Map of Emerald Bay
This comprehensive diagram I edited
was made by George J. Saucedo for the
Californian Geological Survey in 2005
6. Granite
(Possibly Late and Middle Jurassic)
• Granite is an intrusive igneous rock
meaning it was formed from magma and is the
most common type of plutonic rock.
• Granite is composed mainly of quartz
and feldspar with minor amounts of
mica, amphiboles and other minerals. (H. King)
• Gradations from granite to anorthosite
originate by inclusion and reaction. (F.F. Grout
and W.W. Longley)
• At the surface granite is exposed in the
cores of many mountain ranges, within large
areas known as batholiths, and in the core
areas of continents known as shields. (H. King)
• I determined this cliff was comprised of
granite by noting its blatantly visible feldspars
and comparing its location to the geological
map via Californias Geological Survey, Regional
Geologic Map No. 4 (Quake)
7. I did not use my cell phone for this one either
Granodiorite
• Granodiorite or is an intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing
more plagioclase than orthoclase-type feldspar. (Wikipedia)
• It usually contains abundant biotite mica and hornblende, giving it a darker
appearance than true granite. (About)
• I determined these rocks are comprised of granodiorite by noting its appearance
and weathered exterior and comparing its location to the geological map via
Californias Geological Survey, Regional Geologic Map No. 4 (Quake)
8. Basalt
• Basalt is a common extrusive igneous
rock formed from the rapid cooling of
basaltic lava exposed at or very near the
surface (H. King)
• Basalt is usually grey to black in color.
• Basalt with a vesicular texture, as seen
here, is called scoria and forms when
dissolved gases are forced out of solution
as the lava decompresses and reaches the
surface. (Wikipedia)
• Basalt underlies more of Earth's
surface than any other rock type.
• Basaltic volcanism in Tahoe occurred in
two major pulses: 2.3 - 2.0 Ma and 0.92
Ma (W. T. Kortemeier, et. al)
• The color and vesicular texture leads
me to believe this is rock is a type of
basalt.
9. Canadian Goose
Latin: Branta canadensis
Average length: Male 25-45 inches
Average weight: Male 3-13 lbs, Female 3-11 lbs
• The birds find refuge in Tahoe when they molt
their feathers in the spring and can't fly. (Tahoe
Daily Tribune)
• The first well documented Canadian Goose
encounter in Lake Tahoe occurred June 1st, 1909.
(Milton S. Ray)
• The Canada goose is a species of goose that is
specific to North America. They have evolved to
thrive in the fluctuating temperatures of bitter
cold to sweltering heat of the United States and
Canada. (Wildlife Removal)
• The Canada Goose has grown particularly fond
of Tahoe urban environments because the
waterways are maintained and clean and there is
always a group of tourists wanting to throw food
at them. (Wildlife Removal)
10. Human
• Latin: Homo Sapien
Avg. height: 4’7” (1.4m) to 6’3” (1.9m)
Avg. weight: Male 168-183 lbs, Female 120-140 lbs
• Temporal range: Pleistocene - Present
• The functional portion of human DNA is
approximately 98.4% identical to that of
chimpanzees when comparing single nucleotide
polymorphisms thus the closest living relatives of
humans are gorillas and chimpanzees, as they share
a relatively recent common ancestor. (Wood, B)
• Anatomically modern humans first appear in the
fossil record in Africa about 195,000 years ago, and
studies of molecular biology give evidence that the
approximate time of divergence from the common
ancestor of all modern human populations was
200,000 years ago.
• Here, we see a native Tahoe local enjoying a soda
while perched on the tea castle on Fanette Island.
11. Ponderosa Pine
•Latin: Pinus ponderosa
Max height: 265’ or 81m
Average needle length: 6-12” or 15–30 cm
• Mature individuals have cinnamon-red bark with black
crevices. Younger trees have black to reddish-brown bark.
• Not as common in the Tahoe Basin because it prefers
somewhat lower elevations than the Jeffrey pine. (Ted C.
MacRae)
• Ponderosa pine generally evolved with a natural cycle of
frequent, low-intensity fire, which eliminated competing
conifer seedlings but allowed mature pines to survive.
(CSFS)
• A long taproot helps the drought-resistant pine obtain
adequate moisture and also decreases its chances of being
uprooted by strong winds. (CSFS)
• I determined this was a Ponderosa pine instead of a
Jeffrey pine due to its darker red shade and prickly cones
scattered around its base.
12. Refrences
Associated Press. (2006, June 6). Study: Geese are major tahoe polluters. Retrieved from
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20060619/NEWS/60619003
Canada goose. (2013, June 23). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Goose
Canada goose removal and control. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wildlife-removal.com/canadagoose.html
Emerald Bay. (n.d.) Retrieved from
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=509ab4c1-60ef-4788-a559-fea9333b8c98
Emerald bay state park. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.everytrail.com/destination/emerald-bay- state-
park
Frank F. Grout and W. W. Longley. The Journal of Geology. Vol. 43, No. 2 (Feb. - Mar., 1935), pp. 133-141
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Fun facts & history. (2013). Retrieved from http://keeptahoeblue.org/abouttahoe/history-facts/
Kortemeier, W. T., Moore, J. G., Schweikert, R. A., & Calvert, A. T. (2009, December). Ar-ar ages of lake tahoe
basalts confirm several eruptions at 2.3 to 2.0 ma and establish 0.92 ma activity. Retrieved from
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009AGUFM.V41B2177K
13. Refrences
MacRae, T. (2009, March 28). [Web log message]. Retrieved from
http://beetlesinthebush.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/trees-of-lake-tahoe-the-pines/
Milton S. Ray. The Condor , Vol. 14, No. 2 (Mar. - Apr., 1912), pp. 67-72
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Cooper Ornithological Society
Article URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1361812
Ponderosa pine. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/forest-types-ponderosa-pine.html
Saucedo, G. (2007). Geological map of the lake tahoe basin. Retrieved from
http://www.quake.ca.gov/gmaps/RGM/tahoe/tahoe.html
University Of Utah (2005, February 28). The Oldest Homo Sapiens: Fossils Push Human Emergence Back To
195,000 Years Ago.
Wood B, Richmond BG (July 2000). "Human evolution: taxonomy and paleobiology". J. Anat. 197: 19–60
