Spawning Salmon I
by Michele Steffey
Title
Spawning Salmon I
Artist
Michele Steffey
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
Masses of Kokanee salmon cause the waters of Taylor Creek near Lake Tahoe to team with color during the autumn spawn.
Each autumn, from late September through mid-October, mature kokanee salmon (Oncorhyncus nerka), transform from silver-blue color to a fiery vermilion, and run up Taylor Creek, near South Lake Tahoe. As spawning season approaches the fish acquire a humpback and protuberant jaw. After spawning they die and their carcasses provide a feast for gatherings of mink, bears, and Bald eagles. These salmon were translocated from the North Pacific to Lake Tahoe in 1944, and Taylor Creek is their primary spawning stream. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains, on the border of California and Nevada. It is the second deepest lake in the United States (the deepest is Crater Lake in Oregon). It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. Modern Lake Tahoe was shaped and landscaped by scouring glaciers during the Ice Ages. The area around Lake Tahoe was originally inhabited by the Washoe tribe of Native Americans.
This work has been featured in:
* Out West
Uploaded
October 9th, 2013
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