Massacre Lake

Last updated
Massacre Lake
Relief map of U.S., Nevada.png
Red pog.svg
Massacre Lake
Location Washoe County, Nevada
Coordinates 41°39′12″N119°36′18″W / 41.65333°N 119.60500°W / 41.65333; -119.60500
Surface elevation1,704 m (5,591 ft)

Massacre Lake is a lake in the northwest of the U.S. state of Nevada. [1] It was named in commemoration of a supposed 1850 massacre of a party of pioneers. [2] [3] [4] However, a later study suggested that the supposed massacre never took place, due to it being absent in contemporary records. [5] The lake is the site of the oldest known mastodon remains in North America, dating to 16.5-16.4 million years ago. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada</span> U.S. state

Nevada is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, the 32nd-most populous, and the 9th-least densely populated of the U.S. states. Nearly three-quarters of Nevada's people live in Clark County, which contains the Las Vegas–Paradise metropolitan area, including three of the state's four largest incorporated cities. Nevada's capital is Carson City. Las Vegas is the largest city in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Dorado County, California</span> County in California, United States

El Dorado County, officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The county is part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located entirely in the Sierra Nevada, from the historic Gold Country in the western foothills to the High Sierra in the east. El Dorado County's population has grown as Greater Sacramento has expanded into the region. Where the county line crosses US 50 at Clarksville, the distance to Sacramento is 15 miles. In the county's high altitude eastern end at Lake Tahoe, environmental awareness and environmental protection initiatives have grown along with the population since the 1960 Winter Olympics, hosted at the former Squaw Valley Ski Resort in neighboring Placer County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mono County, California</span> County in California, United States

Mono County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridgeport. The county is located east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. The only incorporated town in the county is Mammoth Lakes, which is located at the foot of Mammoth Mountain. Other locations, such as June Lake, are also famous as skiing and fishing resorts. Located in the middle of the county is Mono Lake, a vital habitat for millions of migratory and nesting birds. The lake is located in a wild natural setting, with pinnacles of tufa arising out of the salty and alkaline lake. Also located in Mono County is Bodie, the official state gold rush ghost town, which is now a California State Historic Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada County, California</span> County in California, United States

Nevada County is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, its population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee-Grass Valley micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Sacramento-Roseville combined statistical area, part of the Mother Lode Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra County, California</span> County in California, United States

Sierra County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,236, making it California's second-least populous county. The county seat is Downieville; the sole incorporated city is Loyalton. The county is in the Sierra Nevada, northeast of Sacramento on the border with Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuba County, California</span> County in California, United States

Yuba County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 81,575. The county seat is Marysville. Yuba County is included in the Yuba City metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Sacramento–Roseville combined statistical area. The county is in the Central Valley region along the Feather River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churchill County, Nevada</span> County in Nevada, United States

Churchill County is a county in the western U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,516. Its county seat is Fallon. Named for Mexican–American War hero brevet Brigadier General Sylvester Churchill, the county was formed in 1861. Churchill County comprises the Fallon, NV Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is in northwestern Nevada. Churchill County is noteworthy in that it owns and operates the local telephone carrier, Churchill County Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Incline Village, Nevada</span> Census-designated place in Nevada, United States

Incline Village is a census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno−Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Until the 2010 census, the CDP Crystal Bay, Nevada was counted jointly with Incline Village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Tahoe</span> Lake in California and Nevada, United States

Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at 6,225 ft (1,897 m) above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, and at 122,160,280 acre⋅ft (150.7 km3) it trails only the five Great Lakes as the largest by volume in the United States. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake in Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin River</span> Tributary of the Colorado River in the southwestern United States

The Virgin River is a tributary of the Colorado River in the U.S. states of Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. The river is about 162 miles (261 km) long. It was designated Utah's first wild and scenic river in 2009, during the centennial celebration of Zion National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genoa, Nevada</span> Unincorporated town in the State of Nevada, United States

Genoa is an unincorporated town in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. Founded in 1851, it was the first settlement in what became the Nevada Territory. It is situated within Carson River Valley and is approximately 42 miles (68 km) south of Reno. The population was 939 at the 2010 census. It is home to the oldest bar in the state of Nevada which opened in 1853.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuba River</span> Waterway in Northern California

The Yuba River is a tributary of the Feather River in the Sierra Nevada and eastern Sacramento Valley, in the U.S. state of California. The main stem of the river is about 40 miles (64 km) long, and its headwaters are split into three major forks. The Yuba River proper is formed at the North Yuba and Middle Yuba rivers' confluence, with the South Yuba joining a short distance downstream. Measured to the head of the North Yuba River, the Yuba River is just over 100 miles (160 km) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ward Creek (Lake Tahoe)</span> River in California, United States

Ward Creek is a 6.1-mile (9.8 km) eastward-flowing stream in Placer County, California, United States. The creek flows into Lake Tahoe 2.7 miles (4.3 km) south of Tahoe City, California, and has undergone extensive restoration to reduce sediment and surface run-off to maintain the purity of Lake Tahoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 88</span> Highway in California

State Route 88 (SR 88), also known as the Carson Pass Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It travels in an east–west direction from Stockton, in the San Joaquin Valley, to the Nevada state line, where it becomes Nevada State Route 88, eventually terminating at U.S. Route 395 (US 395). The highway is so named as it crests the Sierra Nevada at Carson Pass. The highway corridor predates the era of the automobile; the path over Carson pass was previously used for the California Trail and the Mormon Emigrant Trail. The mountainous portion of the route is included in the State Scenic Highway System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Utah</span> History of an American state

The History of Utah is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Utah located in the western United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenbrook, Nevada</span> Census-designated place in Nevada, United States

Glenbrook is a census-designated place (CDP) on the east shore of Lake Tahoe in Douglas County, Nevada, United States. The population was 215 at the 2010 census. Beach and Bay are for residents and renters living in Glenbrook's gated community. There is no public access to the beach or bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Upham</span> American geologist (1850–1934)

Warren Upham was an American geologist, archaeologist, and librarian who is best known for his studies of glacial Lake Agassiz.

<i>Zygolophodon</i> Extinct genus of mammutid proboscidean

Zygolophodon is an extinct genus of mammutid proboscidean that lived from the Miocene to the Pliocene in Africa, Eurasia, and North America.

Long Valley is an approximately 25-mile (40 km) long endorheic basin in the northern portion of Washoe County, Nevada in the northwest corner of Nevada. It is bordered by the Hays Canyon Range to the west, which gradually transitions into rolling hills north of the valley. To the east lies a large plateau, which is partially dissected by Massacre Lake Valley; this plateau eventually rises to over 7,000 feet in elevation as it rises toward the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahsahwahbee</span> United States historic place

Bahsahwahbee is a grove of Rocky Mountain juniper trees, locally called swamp cedars, in White Pine County, Nevada, where multiple massacres of Western Shoshone people occurred in the 19th century, two by the U.S. Army and one by vigilantes. The name means "sacred water valley" in the Shoshoni language. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is located eight miles northwest of Great Basin National Park and five miles northeast of Majors Place.

References

  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Massacre Lake
  2. Federal Writers' Project (1941). Origin of Place Names: Nevada (PDF). W.P.A. p. 70.
  3. The Origin of Place Names cites: Mack, Effie Mona (1936). "Nevada: A History of the State from the Earliest Times Through the Civil War" . Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  4. Mack cites "Nevada Section is Weird Land". Sacramento Bee. March 11, 1931. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
  5. Thomas N. Layton, "Massacre! What Massacre? An inquiry into the Massacre of 1850," p 241-251, Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, Winter 1977.
  6. Koenigswald, Widga & Göhlich (2021): New mammutids (Proboscidea) from the Clarendonian and Hemphillian of Oregon – a survey of Mio-Pliocene mammutids from North America