Emerald Bay State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in the United States, centered on

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

's Emerald Bay, a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

. Park features include Eagle Falls and

Vikingsholm Vikingsholm is a 38-room mansion on the shore of Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe, in El Dorado County, California, U.S., and on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been called "one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in No ...

, a 38-room mansion that is considered one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the United States. The architect was Leonard Palme, who was hired by his aunt Laura Knight to design and build Vikingsholm. The park contains the only island in

Fannette Island Fannette Island is the only island in Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada, United States. It lies within Emerald Bay, on the California side of the lake. Over a long period of time, it was called many different names, including Coquette, Fanette, Bara ...

. The park is accessible by

California State Route 89 State Route 89 (SR 89) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels in the north–south direction, serving as a major thoroughfare for many mountain communities in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range. It starts from U.S ...

near the southwest shore of the lake. Emerald Bay is one of Lake Tahoe's most photographed and popular locations. In 1969 Emerald Bay was recognized as a National Natural Landmark by the federal

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

. In 1994

California State Parks The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

included the surrounding water of the bay as a part of the park, making Emerald Bay one of the first underwater parks of its type in the state, protecting the various wrecks and other items on the bay's bottom. The park was established in 1953. It is located directly south of D. L. Bliss State Park. Summer temperatures at the park range from the low at night to mid- during the day, and during the winter visitors will usually experience temperatures between . During harsh winters the bay freezes over. The bay is about in length, and about two-thirds of a mile (1 km) wide at its widest point.

Gallery

File:Aerial of Emerald Bay looking north.JPG, Aerial of Emerald Bay looking north File:Aerial View of Emerald Bay.JPG, Aerial View of Emerald Bay File:Emerald Bay State Park 2.jpg, Hiker's view File:California - Emerald Bay State Park - .jpeg, alt=, Another view from a hiking trail File:Emerald Bay State Park.jpg, Night view File:Emerald Bay with Fannette Island (7617748652).jpg, alt=, Close up of Fannette Island File:Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe (15387213956).jpg, alt=, Sunset File:Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe, Nevada (21560966962).jpg, alt=, High above Emerald Bay

References

External links

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Emerald Bay State Park
{{authority control 1953 establishments in California History of El Dorado County, California Lake Tahoe National Natural Landmarks in California Parks in El Dorado County, California Protected areas established in 1953 Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States) State parks of California