Legend has it that an Indian brave was being chased by a bear and ge prayed to the Great Spirit to save him. So a branch from an aspen tree fell before the brave which he picked up and waved at the bear. Now a leaf from the tree branch fell on the ground and magically it formed Fallen Leaf Lake. Now that slowed the bear but did not stop him. After swimming Fallen Leaf Lake, the bear once again began chasing the brave. In desperation the brave threw the entire branch at the bear and when it hit the ground it formed Lake Tahoe. The waters of Lake Tahoe were so deep and the mountains surrounding it were so steep that the bear could not escape them and the brave was saved. To this day you can still see the scratches formed in the mountains where the bear desperately tried to claw his way out. They are quite visible above Sand Harbor on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe.
Your telling of the Washoe indian legend about the naming of Fallen Leaf Lake is off slightly. The indian was being pursued not by a bear, but by an evil spirit up from the great valley of Sacramento. As the spirit got close he threw down first one leaf at a time, creating American, Aloha, Susie, Heather, and Grass lakes. The evil spirit continued its pursuit, gaining ground, so the indian threw down a large section of the branch-creating Fallen Leaf Lake. When even this didn’t stop the spirit the indian panicked, throwing down the entire rest of the branch to form Lake Tahoe. With this last action the indian was successful, and was able to escape down to the Carson Valley. There is another story of the naming of Fallen Leaf Lake, which claims the Lake was named after Fall Leaf, an indian guide for the first white man to see Lake Tahoe-John C. Fremont. Bill Green (Green family-summer residents since 1945)
John's right. If you look at the 360 view picture; you can see his ghost.
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