Tahoe Tessie: The Loch Ness Monster of Lake Tahoe
Is Lake Tahoe’s Tahoe Tessie a Plesiosaurus? Photo: Earth.com
You have probably heard of the Loch Ness Monster but what about Tahoe Tessie? Tahoe Tessie is a huge creature reportedly seen lurking beneath the waters of Lake Tahoe by many witnesses throughout the years.
Description of Tahoe Tessie
An artists depiction of a plesiosaurus next to a human diver for scale. Photo: Wikipedia
Descriptions vary from sightings but most describe Tessie as a giant underwater creature. Some say she looks like a huge plesiosaurus: a 15ft-20ft long dinosaur with smooth skin and flippers. Tessie is said to have a huge body with a very small head.
In some reports Tahoe Tessie has been described as an eel like creature that is over 60ft long. That’s about the length of a bowling alley lane.
Tessie is said to swim by moving up and down rather than side to side like a snake.
Sightings of Tahoe Tessie
Is this the infamous Tahoe Tessie? Photo by Chris Grinder.
Stories of Tahoe Tessie have been circulating since the land was occupied by the Native American Washoe and Paiute tribes.
These indigenous people believed that there was an immensely powerful and sacred creature living in Lake Tahoe. They believed a large aquatic reptile inhabited the lake, especially the area around East Shore’s Cave Rock.
The indigenous people were so in awe of the creature that they believed even saying it’s name would cause you to go blind or even die.
Over the years every now and then a fisherman would return with a story of seeing an impossibly large creature lurking in the water around their boat.
Reports of sightings have increased since the 1970s. There have been countess reports of encounters with a creature of immense length.
Celebrity Jacques Cousteau reportedly witnessed a huge creature near his boat. He claimed the public was not ready to cope with knowing about such a creature.
The owner of charter fishing boat the Big Mack II, named Mickey Daniels, was out fishing with a group one day when they saw something extraordinary.
A huge creature briefly rose above the water in front of them. As it swam away it left a wake the size of another fishing boat.
Possible Explanations for Tahoe Tessie Sightings
The most mundane explanation for Tahoe Tessie sightings is that the witnesses are simply misidentifying other large fish or eels that live in the lake.
It is also possible that a small group of Plesiosaurus have survived in the lake since ancient times and are able to hide in the depths of Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is 501m deep and covers an area of 496km2. That is a huge area for a monster such as Tahoe Tessie to remain hidden in.
Tahoe Tessie could also be an extraterrestrial creature or even an interdimensional creature. Perhaps there is some kind of portal in the depths of Lake Tahoe where creatures from other dimensions can emerge from and return through.
What do you think about Tahoe Tessie? Let us know in the comments.
If you enjoyed this article you may also like to learn about Tahoe Tessie’s cousin Nessie, the Loch Ness monster.
