Pyramid Lake, Nevada
Pyramid Lake from space, September 1994
Coordinates	40°0′N 119°30′W
Lake type	Endorheic Saline
Primary sources	Truckee River
Primary outflows	evaporation
Catchment area	4,730 km²
Basin countries	USA
Max-length	48 km
Max-width	14 km
Surface area	487 km²
Average depth	{{{depth}}}
Max-depth	108.5 m
Water volume	29.2 km³
Shore length1	160 km
Surface elevation	1,155 m
Islands	Anaho Island
1 Shore length is an imprecise measure which may not be standardized for this article.

This article is about Pyramid Lake in Nevada. For others, see Pyramid Lake (disambiguation)

Pyramid Lake and its environs

Pyramid Lake is an endorheic saline lake, approximately 188 mi² (487 km²) in area, in the Great Basin in northwestern Nevada in the United States. One of the largest lakes in the United States, it is located in southern Washoe County 40 mi (64 km) northeast of Reno, along the east side of the Virginia Mountains (40°0′N 119°30′W) with a surface elevation of about 1155 m (3790 feet). ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (639x639, 480 KB) Pyramid Lake, Nevada, United States - September 1994 image description here File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Truckee River is a river, 140 mi (225 km) long, in northern California and northern Nevada in the United States. ... Water vapor condensing over a cup of hot tea Evaporation is one of the two forms of vaporization. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (yellow outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (blue lines) of a contiguous area. ... Anaho Island is an island in Pyramid Lake, Nevada, on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. ... Pyramid Lake is an artificial reservoir near Gorman, California, part of the California Aqueduct. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (948x1280, 1160 KB) Pyramid Lake in Nevada, USA. NASA Landsat image, made with NASA World Wind. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (948x1280, 1160 KB) Pyramid Lake in Nevada, USA. NASA Landsat image, made with NASA World Wind. ... The shores of Lake Hart, an endorheic desert lake in South Australia In geography, an endorheic basin—also called a terminal or closed basin—is a watershed from which there is no outflow of water, either on the surface as rivers, or underground by flow or diffusion through rock or... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) In chemistry, a salt is any ionic compound composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions so that the product is neutral and without a net charge. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A square mile is an Imperial unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (5,280 feet, 1,760 yards, 1,609. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Drainage map showing the Great Basin in orange The Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States, commonly defined as the contiguous watershed region, roughly between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, that has no natural outlet to the sea. ... Official language(s) None Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Area  Ranked 7th  - Total 110,567 sq mi (286,367 km²)  - Width 322 miles (519 km)  - Length 490 miles (788 km)  - % water 0. ... Washoe County is a county located in the state of Nevada. ... City nickname: The Biggest Little City in the World Downtown Reno at night Founded May 13, 1868 County Washoe County Mayor Bob Cashell Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 179. ... The Virginia Mountains comprise an irregular mountain range located in western Nevada in the United States. ...

It is fed by the Truckee River (the outlet of Lake Tahoe), which enters the lake from its southern end. It has no outlet, with water leaving only by evaporation, or sub-surface seepage. The lake has about 10% of the area of the Great Salt Lake, but it has about 25% more volume. The salinity is approximately 1/6th of the ocean. Although clear Lake Tahoe forms headwaters that eventually drain to Pyramid Lake, The Truckee River delivers more turbid waters to Pyramid Lake after traversing the steep sierra terrain and collecting moderately high silt loaded surface runoff. The Truckee River is a river, 140 mi (225 km) long, in northern California and northern Nevada in the United States. ... Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay State Park Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada, on the border between the U.S. states of California and Nevada, near Carson City. ... Water vapor condensing over a cup of hot tea Evaporation is one of the two forms of vaporization. ... Satellite Photo of the Great Salt Lake as it looked in the summer of 2003 The Great Salt Lake as seen looking north towards Antelope Island from Sunset Beach Great Salt Lake from airspace over Salt Lake City Great Salt Lake is an endorheic saline lake in northern Utah, much... Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. ... Turbidity standards of 10, 100, and 1000 NTU Turbidity is a cloudiness or haziness of water (or other liquid) caused by individual particles that are too small to be seen without magnification, thus being much like smoke in air. ... Runoff flowing into a stormwater drain Surface runoff is water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the water cycle[1][2]. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called overland flow. ...

The lake is the largest remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan that covered much of northwestern Nevada at the end of the last ice age. In the 19th century the vicinity of the lake was inhabited by the Paiute. The lake is now completely within the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. It was first mapped in 1844 by John C. Fremont, the American discoverer of the lake. Extent of prehistoric Lake Lahontan For the modern reservoir, see Lake Lahontan (reservoir) Ancient Lake Lahontan was an enormous endorheic lake that existed during the ice age, covering much of northwestern Nevada, extending into northeastern California and southern Oregon. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paiute (sometimes written as Piute) refers to two related groups — Northern Paiute and Southern Paiute — of Native Americans speaking languages belonging to the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan family of Native American languages. ... The Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in northwestern Nevada in the United States. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813-July 13, 1890), birth name John Charles Fremon [Harvey, p. ...

Major fish species include the cui-ui lakesucker, which is endemic to Pyramid Lake, and Lahontan cutthroat trout. The former is endangered, and the latter is threatened. Both species were of critical importance to the Paiute people in pre-contact times. As they are both obligate freshwater spawners, they rely on sufficient inflow to allow them to run up the Truckee River to spawn otherwise their eggs will not hatch. Diversion of the Truckee for irrigation since the early 20th century has reduced inflow such that it is rarely sufficient for spawning in modern times. Fish populations are sustained by several tribally-run fish hatcheries. The Guppy, also known as guppie (Poecilia reticulata) is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. ... Binomial name Chasmistes cujus Cope, 1883 The Cui-ui (Chasmistes Cujus) is a large sucker fish which is endemic to Pyramid Lake in northwestern Nevada. ... Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) is the state fish of Nevada. ... The endangered Sea Otter An endangered species is a population of organisms (usually a taxonomic species), which is either (a) so few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters that it is at risk of becoming extinct. ... An average Whooping Crane egg is 102 mm long, and weighs 208 grams In some animals, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara (, ) Irrigation (in agriculture) is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

The name of the lake comes from the impressive tufa formations nearby. The largest such formation, Anaho Island, is home to a large colony of American White Pelicans and is highly restricted for ecological reasons. Access to the Needles, another spectacular tufa formation at the northern end of the lake has also been restricted due to recent vandalism. Tufa is the name for an unusual geological formation. ... Anaho Island is an island in Pyramid Lake, Nevada, on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. ... Binomial name Pelecanus erythrorhynchos Gmelin, 1789 The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is a very large (50–70) white bird with black wing tips and an enormous orange bill. ...

Water quality

Pyramid Lake as seen from the Pah Rah Range

Because of the endangered species present and due to the fact that the Lake Tahoe Basin comprises the headwaters of the Truckee River, Pyramid Lake has been the focus of several water quality investigations, the most detailed starting in the mid-1980s. Under direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a comprehensive dynamic water quality computer model, the DSSAM Model was developed ^[1]to analyze impacts of a variety of land use and wastewater management decisions throughout the 3120 square mile Truckee River Basin. Analytes addressed included nitrogen, reactive phosphate, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen and nine other parameters. Based upon use of the model, some decisions have been influenced to enhance Pyramid Lake water quality and aid the viability of Pyramid Lake biota. Pyramid Lake as seen from the Pah Rah Range, looking north east. ... Pyramid Lake as seen from the Pah Rah Range, looking north east. ... Lake Tahoe Emerald Bay State Park Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada, on the border between the U.S. states of California and Nevada, near Carson City. ... The mission of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment: air, water, and land. ... A computer simulation or a computer model is a computer program which attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system. ... Lake Tahoe, headwater sub-basin of the Truckee River watershed The DSSAM Model (Dynamic Stream Simulation and Assessment. ... The Truckee River is a river, 140 mi (225 km) long, in northern California and northern Nevada in the United States. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... In inorganic chemistry, a phosphate is a salt of phosphoric acid. ... Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is that portion of solids in water that can pass through a 2 micrometre filter. ... Oxygen saturation or dissolved oxygen (DO) is a measure of amount of oxygen dissolved in a given medium. ... Biota can refer to several things: The plant and animal life of a region; see biota (ecology) A municipality in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain; see Biota (municipality) A superdomain in taxonomy; see Biota (taxonomy) Biota Holdings, the Australian biotech company This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other...

References

See also

• Winnemucca Lake
• Carson Sink