The potential hazard from tsunami and Seiche waves generated by large earthquakes within Lake Tahoe, California‐Nevada

We investigate the potential of local earthquakes to generate tsunamis and seiches within Lake Tahoe. We calculated the long wavelength oscillations generated by 3 hypothetical M w >7 earthquake scenarios for faults with normal slip directly under and outside the lake basin. The scenarios involving fault slip under the lake are the North Tahoe‐Incline Village and West Tahoe‐Dollar Point scenarios. The Genoa scenario involves a fault that crops out 10 km east of the lake. Faulting beneath the lake generates a tsunami followed by a seiche that continues for hours with waves as high as 3 to 10 m. The seiche potentially threatens low lying lakeside communities and lifelines. We also compare the spectral characteristics of synthetic tide gauge records with wind swell observations. The fundamental mode calculated for a seiche is consistent with the wind swell observations.