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1955 Map of Meeks Bay

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Meeks Bay
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1971
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1971

About this map

Lake Tahoe dominates this mid-century survey of the California-Nevada border region, capturing the western shoreline during a period of steady residential and recreational development. The map details the wooded slopes of the Eldorado National Forest as they meet the deep waters of Meeks Bay and Rubicon Bay. Early lakeside settlements like Tahoma and the seasonal hubs at Paradise Flat are clearly marked, alongside the early infrastructure of Sugar Pine Point State Park, which includes the General Guard Station.

Insights into the area's geography are provided by bathymetric depth curves and the precise boundary lines between El Dorado and Placer counties. The terrain transitions from the shoreline at Sugar Pine Point into the steep drainages of Rubicon Gulch, illustrating the transition from resort-focused waterfront to protected wilderness. This 1955 survey, with 1969 aerial revisions, preserves the footprint of a Tahoe community before modern expansion altered the original lakeside character.