Tamarack | |
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  Tamarack Location in California Show map of California Tamarack Tamarack (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:38°26′20″N120°04′34″W / 38.43889°N 120.07611°W /38.43889; -120.07611 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Calaveras County |
| Elevation | 6,913 ft (2,107 m) |
Tamarack, formerly known asCamp Tamarack,[2] is anunincorporated community inCalaveras County, California in the United States. It was founded in the 1920s.[2] A nearby weather station, located across theAlpine County line, has been the site of several United States meteorological records.
Tamarack is located at an elevation of 6,913 feet (2,107 m),[1] on the west slope of theSierra Nevada nearBear Valley and south ofSouth Lake Tahoe.
The Tamarack weather station was located at an elevation of 8,060 feet (2,460 m) ("upon the Summit" according to the first observer) and operated by PG&E employees from 1903 to 1948; its exact location is uncertain, but it is believed to have been located between Lower Blue Lake and Tamarack Lake, approximately 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Kirkwood Ski Resort. Here, the greatest snow depth ever recorded was measured at the Tamarack station: in January 1911, 390 inches (9,900 mm) of snow fell, leading to a snow depth in March of 451 inches (11,500 mm).[3][4] Tamarack also holds the record for greatest seasonal snowfall in California: during the winter of 1906−1907, it received 883 or 884 inches (22,400 or 22,500 mm) of snow.[3][4][5]
Tamarack has asubarctic climate (Köppen climate classificationDsc) with mild to warm summers coupled with chilly nights and moderately cold winter days with frigid nights and extremely heavy annual snowfall averaging 443.7 inches (11,270 mm).
| Climate data for Tamarack, California | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 65 (18) | 70 (21) | 68 (20) | 76 (24) | 82 (28) | 88 (31) | 90 (32) | 88 (31) | 85 (29) | 86 (30) | 70 (21) | 65 (18) | 90 (32) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 38.4 (3.6) | 40.4 (4.7) | 44.2 (6.8) | 49.2 (9.6) | 55.9 (13.3) | 63.2 (17.3) | 72.5 (22.5) | 72.5 (22.5) | 65.1 (18.4) | 55.0 (12.8) | 44.9 (7.2) | 39.1 (3.9) | 53.4 (11.9) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 27.0 (−2.8) | 30.3 (−0.9) | 35.0 (1.7) | 41.0 (5.0) | 48.3 (9.1) | 57.2 (14.0) | 56.7 (13.7) | 50.1 (10.1) | 41.3 (5.2) | 32.7 (0.4) | 26.2 (−3.2) | 39.2 (4.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 11.4 (−11.4) | 13.6 (−10.2) | 16.3 (−8.7) | 20.7 (−6.3) | 26.1 (−3.3) | 33.3 (0.7) | 41.9 (5.5) | 40.9 (4.9) | 35.0 (1.7) | 27.6 (−2.4) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 13.2 (−10.4) | 25.0 (−3.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −45 (−43) | −26 (−32) | −17 (−27) | −8 (−22) | 0 (−18) | 2 (−17) | 24 (−4) | 14 (−10) | 14 (−10) | −1 (−18) | −12 (−24) | −26 (−32) | −45 (−43) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 8.88 (226) | 8.47 (215) | 8.06 (205) | 3.10 (79) | 2.34 (59) | 1.47 (37) | 0.76 (19) | 0.43 (11) | 1.17 (30) | 2.46 (62) | 4.81 (122) | 6.45 (164) | 52.78 (1,341) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 87.7 (223) | 91.2 (232) | 79.3 (201) | 28.9 (73) | 20.0 (51) | 6.7 (17) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 5.5 (14) | 16.0 (41) | 42.6 (108) | 69.5 (177) | 447.4 (1,137) |
| Source:[6] | |||||||||||||
Municipalities and communities ofCalaveras County, California,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Former settlements | ||