Sierra Sandcastles
Tufa towers rise above what used to be part of a lake bed by Mono Lake in the Sierra Nevada.
Tufa towers formed in the alkaline waters of Mono Lake over centuries. Subsurface waters enter the bottom of Mono Lake through small springs. High concentrations of dissolved calcium ions in these subsurface waters cause huge amounts of calcite to precipitate around the spring orifices. Over decades and even centuries these tufa towers rise up off of the lake floor.
Los Angles began diverting the waters that fed this lake in the early 1940's causing the lake levels to drop from evaporation. By 1990 the lake level had dropped by 45 feet. After a decade of litigation California State Water Resources Control Board issued an order to protect Mono Lake and its tributary streams on September 28, 1994. Since then the levels of the lake have started to rise again.
Sierra Sandcastles
Tufa towers rise above what used to be part of a lake bed by Mono Lake in the Sierra Nevada.
Tufa towers formed in the alkaline waters of Mono Lake over centuries. Subsurface waters enter the bottom of Mono Lake through small springs. High concentrations of dissolved calcium ions in these subsurface waters cause huge amounts of calcite to precipitate around the spring orifices. Over decades and even centuries these tufa towers rise up off of the lake floor.
Los Angles began diverting the waters that fed this lake in the early 1940's causing the lake levels to drop from evaporation. By 1990 the lake level had dropped by 45 feet. After a decade of litigation California State Water Resources Control Board issued an order to protect Mono Lake and its tributary streams on September 28, 1994. Since then the levels of the lake have started to rise again.