Lake Tahoe Outlet Gates

Placer County · Truckee River, Tahoe City · location approximate

Conflicting control of these gates, first built in 1870, resulted in the "Tahoe Water War" between lakeshore owners and downstream Truckee River water users, which lasted two decades. The dispute was settled in 1910-11 when techniques for determining water content in snow were developed by Dr. James E. Church, Jr., and made possible accurate prediction and control of the seasonal rise in lake and river levels.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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