But its normal appearance is that of a floor of lapis lazuli set with a ring of emerald.
The depth of the water, varying as it does from a few feet to nearly or over 2000 feet, together with the peculiarly variable bottom of the Lake, have much to do with these color effects.

The lake bottom on a clear wind-quiet day can be clearly seen except in the lowest depths.
Here and there are patches of fairly level area, covered either with rocky bowlders, moss-covered rocks, or vari-colored sands.

Then, suddenly, the eye falls upon a ledge, on the yonder side of which the water suddenly becomes deep blue.

That ledge may denote a submarine precipice, a hundred, five hundred, a thousand or more feet deep, and the changes caused by such sudden and awful depths are beyond verbal description.
Many of the softer color-effects are produced by the light colored sands that are washed down into the shallower waters by the mountain streams.

These vary considerably, from almost white and cream, to deep yellow, brown and red.