@p @meowski @NonPlayableClown Tulare Lake, which was big, but I am not sure it was "the biggest freshwater lake West of the Great Lakes" in the 1800s. Tahoe seems like it is bigger.

I am aware that the farmers used (and continue to use) lots of water (about 90% of all CA water use), so it I'm not at all surprised to learn that they drained Tulare.