Incline Creek is a southward-flowing
stream
A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...
originating in the
Carson Range
The Carson Range is a spur of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California and western Nevada that starts at Carson Pass and stretches north to the Truckee River near Verdi, Nevada.
Geography
The mountain range is about 50 miles (80 km) long a ...
,
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
in the northeast
Lake Tahoe Basin in
Washoe County
Washoe County () is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statis ...
in western
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
. Incline Creek flows through the
Diamond Peak Ski Area on the way to
Incline Village
Incline Village is an upmarket census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno− Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...
where it empties into
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...
.
History
Incline Creek, like Incline Village, is named for the inclined railroad built by H. Sam Marlette and Walter Scott Hobart. This railroad hauled the cut lumber from their lumber mill on Mill Creek, and Lake Tahoe, Tahoe. The Incline Railroad dated back to 1875, and carried the lumber up to a wooden
flume
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to t ...
that floated the lumber east, down the flume, for transport on the V+T Railroad. The cut lumber was used in
Virginia City
Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Virginia City dev ...
and
Carson City
Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the 6th most populous city in the state. The m ...
mines, and for home and commercial construction.
Watershed and course
Incline Creek is part of the
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...
/
Truckee River
The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...
watershed. Like Third Creek, it deposits heavy sediment loads into Lake Tahoe.
Recreation
The Folsom Camp Loop is a relatively easy trail that begins at Diamond Peak Resort and ascends along Incline Creek to historic Folsom Camp before returning on the other side of the creek. The historic camp is named for lumberman Gilman Folsom, who with Sam Marlette, employed 400 Chinese laborers cutting timber for use in Virginia City.
See also
*
List of Lake Tahoe inflow streams
Lake Tahoe inflow streams contribute of the of water that flows through Lake Tahoe every year. The list, below, groups rivers and creeks that flow into the lake by their locations on the north, east, south and west shores, in a clockwise orde ...
References
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Rivers of Nevada
Rivers of Washoe County, Nevada
Lake Tahoe