At the end of my trip to California in the summer of 2012, I visited Mono Lake. Mono Lake is a prehistoric lake located in California in the Eastern Sierra. The Eastern Sierra is at a much higher elevation than my native Massachusetts. While standing on the edge of the lake, I was a little over 100 feet higher than the summit of Mount Washington. At the time, I found that hard believe.
Mono Lake was like nothing I had ever seen before. The lakes main geological characteristic are it’s towers of limestone called Tufa. Tufa are formed when springs move water and calcium in the soil upward into the lake. The calcium mixes with carbonates in the lake water, forming limestone.
If you visit the lake today, you can see Tufa formations out of the water. The exposed Tufa are due to a gradual decline of Mono Lake. The lake is fed by melting snow from the surrounding mountains. Over time, it’s tributaries have been re-routed due to human intervention. The result a one hundred food drop in the lake’s volume. This drop has had an adverse effect on the wildlife, specifically the birds that use it for a nesting location. I have a full gallery of photographs on my website that I took during my time at Mono Lake. I invite you to take a look.
For additional information on Mono Lake, please visit: http://www.monolake.org/