A group of geologists is predicting an unlikely scenario for the normally placid waters of Lake Tahoe. It's possible, they say, that an earthquake could generate 30-foot-high tsunami waves and inundate many areas near the shore.

Computer modeling by a group at the University of Nevada at Reno that is working with a Japanese tsunami expert showed ruptures along either fault could lift or drop the bottom the lake and possibly generate a tsunami. The tsunami in turn could trigger seiche waves-- massive sloshing that could crisscross the lake, persist for hours and reach heights of 30 feet or more.

"It was surprising to me the wave heights were that high," said Gene Ichinose, a graduate student in geophysics at the University of Nevada and lead author of the study. Though tsunamis are normally associated with oceans, Tahoe is the 10th-deepest lake in the world, more than 1,500 feet in places, so it contains enough water to generate large and dangerous waves.