Here another view of the location above. The map insert shows the coordinates based on the Preuss drawing. Frémont made no determination of his position.
Frémont: The water is so slightly salt, that, at first, we thought it fresh, and would be pleasant to drink when no other could be had. The shore was rocky--a handsome beach, which reminded us of the sea. On some large granite boulders that were scattered about the shore, I remarked a coating of calcareous substance, in some places a few inches, and in others a foot in thickness. Near our camp, the hills, which were of primitive rock, were also covered with this substance, which was in too great quantity on the mountains along the shore of the lake to have been deposited by water, and has the appearance of having been spread over the rocks in mass.
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Frémont,
January 14, 1844. We encamped on the shore,
opposite a very remarkable rock in the lake, which had
attracted our attention for many miles. It rose,
according to our estimate, 600 feet above the water, and,
from the point we viewed it, presented a pretty exact
outline of the great pyramid of Cheops. Like other rocks
along the shore, it seemed to be incrusted with
calcareous cement. This striking feature suggested a name
for the lake, and I called it Pyramid Lake. 
This
is a recent photograph compared to the drawing made by
Charles Preuss of the encampment on the east shore of
Pyramid Lake on January 12, 1844. Note that the lake level
is lower today, and that the rock shown in the lake in 1844
is today high and dry on the shore. The level change is, in
part, cyclical, but is mostly because of diversion of the
Truckee River (Frémont's "Salmon Trout River") for
agricultural purposes and for the supply of water to the
city of Reno.
But
also note Preuss's carefully drawn details. There is a
problem trying to match perspectives photographically.
Preuss has drawn the mountains in the background accurately,
but it would take a telephoto lens to reproduce his
perspective. However, that would compress the foreground.
This is always a problem in trying to use a camera to
reproduce what the eye sees. Because of the distances
involved, it would require merging two photographs
(foreground and background), taken with lenses of different
focal lengths, to duplicate what the artist saw and
drew.
One
problem with the engraving of the Preuss drawing above is in
the peopleing. These details may have been added
later, or even by the engraver. Here the mountain howitzer
is depicted as a European howitzer, complete with
dolphins, or handles.
