SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- Authorities say a woman plunged to her death down a Northern California waterfall after she slipped and lost her footing while taking photos.

The North Tahoe Fire Protection District said in a statement that the woman died Friday at Eagle Falls. The waterfall overlooking Lake Tahoe is about 150 feet (45 metres) tall.

Fire district spokeswoman Erin Holland said Saturday that witnesses reported the young woman was too close to the edge. There was no guardrail blocking access to the area.

The district says her death is “a sad reminder to be cautious when taking selfies and other photos in dangerous areas.”

Holland says very cold water feeding the waterfall is moving extremely fast because of snowmelt from record snowfall in the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains.

The woman was not identified.