This large rock formation is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Tahoe and is easily visible from almost any point on the lake. Once a part of the neck of a volcanic vent that existed on the site about five million years ago, Cave Rock is now named for the caves high up on its side. When Lake Tahoe was first formed, roughly three million years ago, the lake level was initially hundreds of feet higher than it is now. Remarkably, these caves were carved out of the rock by wave action of the lake over tens of thousands of years during that period.
Cave Rock, Lake Tahoe, on the Nevada side. The car trails are the result of stacking long exposures before and after dark.
The Black Rock Desert is a dry lake bed left over from the last ice age. This is the bottom of ancient Lake Lahontan, which was at its peak about 12,700 years ago and had this land about 500' below the surface of the lake. Today, this is a huge flat expanse of the dry lake or playa.
