Field assignment

By: Yliana Cuevas

Lake Tahoe Basin

How Lake Tahoe was Formed

South Lake Tahoe

was formed by the

rise and fall of

faulting. About 24

million years ago

tremendous

uplifting formed the

Sierra Nevada

block. Lava flowing

from Mt. Pluto then

formed a barrier, the

Truckee River.

Water from snowfall

and streams flow

into the basin then

creating a lake.

(“Geology”)

Glaucous Larkspur

Grows in wet

meadows and

along streams.

(“Blackwell”)

Very similar to

western Larkspur

but the Glaucous

Larkspur has

larger palmately

divided and lobed

leaves since it

grows along side

wet meadows and

streams(“Blackwell

”)

Jeffrey Pine

Many people

believe that the

Jeffrey Pine tree

evolved from the

Ponderosa Pine.

Jeffrey pine has a

shorter growing

season and is

found at higher

elevations and on

colder and drier

sites than

ponderosa pine.

(“Jeffrey”)

Fun Fact about the Jeffrey Pines Jeffrey pine has

physiological features that allow it to survive those fire.

Scientist still don’t know what causes this tree to survive fires. It could be its thick fire-retardant bark, the barks structure or its chemical composition (“Jeffrey”)

Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel

Its from the

family of

sciuridaes.

Its lives in forest,

meadows, fields,

and Alpine

(“Golden-mantled

“).

Diet consists of

nuts, seeds,

grasses, fruits,

and carrion

(“Lake”).

Black Bear

Black bears vary

from blonde to

black. Cinnamon

brown is the most

common.

Black bears are

omnivores.

Average weight is

300 pounds.

Can sprint up to

35 mph (“Lake”)

Granite Rocks

The peaks

surrounding the

lake tahoe basin

are mountains of

granite (“The”).

Granite is an

intrusive igneous

rock, meaning

that it is

composed of

formerly molten

material that

cooled below the

surface (“Sierra”)

Igneous Rocks Basalt

Basalt is still

molten when they

reach the surface,

and resulting

rapid cooling rate

does not allow for

crystal growth,

giving the rock a

more uniform

appearance

(“Sierra”)

Sandstone sedimentary rock

Sandstone is a

sedimentary rock

composed of

sand-sized grains

of mineral, rock

or organic

material. It also

contains a

cementing

material that

binds the sand

grains together

(“Sandstone”)

Metamorphic Rocks

130 million years ago the

increased pressure and

temperature from the

Colliding plates caused

the rocks to melt and

formed lava that moved to

the surface of the earth.

The lava started to cool

slowly this allowed

crystals to form and then

made the Granitic Rock

we see in the Sierra

Nevada mountains. In

time the Lava plumes

moved down to the block

of sedimentary rock that

was under the shallow

Sea. The lava pushed

through the sedimentary

rock to make

Metamorphic rock

(“Tahoe. (n.d.)”)

Geology of the Lake Tahoe Basin. (n.d.). . Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ltbmu/learning/?cid=stelprdb5109570

Blackwell, L. (2006, January 1). Great Basin. Google Books. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://books.google.com/books?id=MNCQlYQj15gC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=glaucous+larkspur&source=bl&ots=S5L3rjz9ro&sig=SBA6Wb5FTeKP2wns89EX0ByECtU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dIXeU5iUM4ihogS5jILgCg&ved=0CDQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=glaucous%20larkspur&f=false

References

Lake Tahoe Basin Mgt Unit - Home. (n.d.). Lake Tahoe Basin Mgt Unit - Home. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/ltbmu/home/?cid=fsm9_046595

Jeffrey Pine Forest. (n.d.). . Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.calalive.org/content/jeffrey-pine-forest

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Spermophilus lateralis. (2007, January 1). eNature: FieldGuides: Species Detail. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recnum=MA0124

The Lake Tahoe Basin | Lake Tahoe California. (n.d.). The Lake Tahoe Basin. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.tahoevacationguide.com/laketahoe.html

Sierra Nevada Physical Geography. (n.d.). Sierra Nevada. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g148_f09/readings/sierra_nevada/sierra_nevada.html

Sandstone. (n.d.). : Sedimentary Rock. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://geology.com/rocks/sandstone.shtml

Tahoe. (n.d.). All Things Tahoe. Retrieved August 4, 2014, from http://www.allthingstahoe.com/Tahoe.html