Cynthia St. Charles Store

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Mono Lake

We traveled through the Nevada desert after leaving Great Basin National Park.
Just over the California border, we came to Mono Lake.
We were very surprised to see these unusual formations standing just offshore of Mono Lake.


These are called tufa. They are made of limestone and were formed underwater. When the level of the lake was reduced by demands for fresh water on the California coast - the tufa was exposed.

Find out more about tufa at this website.




This is another view of Mono Lake - from the western shores - it was taken early in the morning.

2 comments:

Beverly said...

I have very fond memories of Mono Lake, having spent a couple of summers working in nearby June Lake. The summer they filmed Clint Eastwood's 'High Plains Drifter' by the lake was an especially fun one!

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

I LOVE Mono Lake! (Except for the smell!) We were there in '97, and I was fascinated with the tufa. The ecosystem there is really interesting. Thanks for sharing your pix!