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Pyramid Lake is Nevada’s Largest Natural Water Body

3
  • by Daniel Kelly
  • — May 22, 2014

Much of the water flowing into Nevada’s Pyramid Lake comes from Lake Tahoe. The two water bodies are connected by the Truckee River, which carries water north. For this reason, Pyramid Lake has been the subject of scientific study for some time, as researchers have looked for water quality changes downstream from the famously clear Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe Boat

A boat on Lake Tahoe. (Credit: Mariana Wagner via Flickr)

But Pyramid Lake is the largest natural lake in Nevada and holds plenty of discoveries of its own. In the mid-80s, it was important in forming a stream simulation and assessment model for the Truckee River to track pollutant loading in the tributary.

Those loads directly affect the Lahontan cutthroat trout and the Cui-ui sucker fish, both endangered species. In recent years, the model has been updated to base its measurements on Total Maximum Daily Loads.

The_pyramid

Pyramid Lake, Nevada. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons User Ratzer via Wikipedia, Public Domain)

Other than its connection with the Truckee River, Pyramid Lake is a closed basin. Water only leaves through evaporation or by seeping out underground. This is illustrated by the lake’s volume, which is 25 percent more than that of Great Salt Lake despite its smaller area.

Pyramid Lake’s water is more turbid due to high levels of silt that are transferred by the Truckee, but still supports chub, trout and salmon. Most sediment washes in from the steep, mountainous terrain in the area. Figures on turbidity and other water quality parameters are monitored by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe.

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3 Comments

  1. tim says:
    October 26, 2014 at 9:53 PM

    The second photograph is of Pyramid Lake reservoir in southern California, not Pyramid Lake in Nevada. They are nothing alike.

    Reply
    • Daniel Kelly says:
      October 27, 2014 at 7:38 AM

      Tim, thanks for the heads-up. The photo has been updated accordingly.

      Reply
  2. Floyd HUBBELL says:
    January 10, 2017 at 11:34 PM

    I live in a small town of Dos Palos out in the San Joaquin Valley about 400 miles away at the last 3 times I’ve been there I haven’t been able to launch my boat due to low water.
    Very disappointed after buying a yearly pass and was told that’s the chance you take

    Reply

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