To thousands the chief charm of Lake Tahoe is in the exquisite, rare, and astonishing colors of its waters.

They are an endless source of delight to all who see them, no matter how insensible they may be, ordinarily, to the effect of color.

There is no shade of blue or green that cannot here be found and the absolutely clear and pellucid quality of the water enhances the beauty and perfection of the tone.
One minister of San Francisco thus speaks of the coloring: When the day is calm there is a ring around the Lake extending from a hundred yards to a mile from the shore which is the most brilliant green; within this ring there is another zone of the deepest blue, and this gives place to royal purple in the distance; and the color of the Lake changes from day to day and from hour to hour.

It is never twice the same--sometimes the blue is lapis lazuli, then it is jade, then it is purple, and when the breeze gently ruffles the surface it is silvery-gray.

The Lake has as many moods as an April day or a lovely woman.