Thomas Bachand's stunning photographs of Lake Tahoe capture the sublime beauty of this beloved natural wonder while also illustrating its fragility. Bachand has been making photographs of the lake and its environs for more than ten years, creating images that possess a timeless vocabulary of water, rock, and sky. Bachaund's images also depict the transition that the lake and its surrounding are undergoing due to tourism and development. These two sides of Bachand's work - presented here for the first time - reflect the delicate balance that exists between conservation and growth in the region. An introduction by Dr. Charles R. Goldman, founder and director of the Tahoe Research Group at UC Davis, addresses how factors as diverse as development and global climate change threaten Lake Tahoe's legendary clear blue waters. In addition, excerpts from Mark Twain's seminal volume Roughing It remind us of the lake's awe-inspiring grandeur as it appeared more than a century ago. Lake Tahoe: A Fragile Beauty celebrates the natural splendor of a region that is also a key arena for many of the salient environmental issues facing our time. Bachand's exploration of Tahoe's singular loveliness, rich history, and universal challenges conveys the area's extraordinary character, and our need to understand and care for this unique jewel. -- from dust jacket.