How many bodies are at the bottom of Lake Tahoe? It is not known exactly how many bodies are at the bottom or where they are specifically located.
Waters are so cold in Lake Tahoe, staying a constant 39 degrees Fahrenheit below 600 feet. However, shallow areas around the lake can warm up to 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer months.
Lake Tahoe has been the perfect vacation spot for families over the years, no matter the season. The snowy mountains surrounding the beautiful blue lake truly make for a picture-perfect getaway. Yet, not many people realize the dark past of this beautiful location.
An article by the Reno Gazette Journal claims that around the late 1800s, Lake Tahoe was essentially a dumping ground for Chinese railroad workers’ bodies. They would be thrown into the lake by the hundreds while still alive and tied up in big groups and weighed down to sink to the bottom. The mob would also give punishments in the mid 1900s. They would put cement blocks on the feet of their victims and let them sink to the bottom. There is no exact number of bodies at the bottom of the lake but locals and experts estimate over 200 bodies are still preserved down below because of the cold temperatures.
According to the RGJ, independent filmmaker and explorer Jacques Cousteau, received some deep sea diving equipment and found the location where all these bodies supposedly were. Cousteau was hoping to make a documentary about it. When Cousteau returned, he said he would not film it because the world was not ready to see what the U.S. government did to these poor people.
We are not fully aware if these reports are true, but it was said that “powerful people” put a stop to further missions and explorations of bodies at the bottom.
These bodies stay preserved because at depths of 600 to 700 feet; the lake constantly stays at a temperature of around 39 degrees fahrenheit. At this temperature, it prevents gasses that lead to decomposition from being released into the body. A majority of the bodies down there are believed to still be in their original clothing.
It is not known exactly how many bodies are at the bottom or where they are specifically located, but it is widely believed that this vacation spot has had a past that many were not aware of and could be spooked by.
