Lake Tahoe has long been admired for its breathtaking beauty. Now, thanks to groundbreaking research by Western Nevada College Professor of Geosciences Dr. Winnie Kortemeier, we know that Lake Tahoe is North America’s oldest permanent freshwater lake.

News of her extraordinary scientific discovery traveled as far away as London through print, digital, TV and radio reports.

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., Dr. Kortemeier will present a free lecture about Lake Tahoe in Carson Nugget Hall in the Aspen Building on the Carson City campus. Her lecture is titled “Tahoe: North America’s Oldest Lake.”

“We are extremely proud of Dr. Kortemeier and her research,” said WNC President Dr. J. Kyle Dalpe. “She's a great role model for our students and brings a variety of real-world experiences to them in the classroom.”

In her presentation, Dr. Kortemeier will explain the science behind her discovery — and the hype — of one of the world’s oldest permanent freshwater lakes.

The largest alpine lake in North America was created during the Pleistocene era, also known as the Ice Age, roughly 10,000 to 2.6 million years ago. Through radiometric dating of rocks and examining the basalt that has interacted with the water of Lake Tahoe during her 20 years of Lake Tahoe research, Dr. Kortemeier determined that the lake is at least 2.3 million years old.

Now, Dr. Kortemeier looks forward to sharing her passion and knowledge of Lake Tahoe with attendees on Feb. 26.

“I love Lake Tahoe and its spectacular geology. I take students up there every semester on field trips, and I do like sharing what I know about it,” she said.

Dr. Kortemeier presented her Lake Tahoe research at the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting on Sept. 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.