Dmitri007
Pillars of creation
So, it is winter, it is getting cold in the evening, and everyone is gone. It is a 300 yard or so easy hike to the parking area. It is beautiful in the moonlight. What is the catch? The coyotes. I would have loved to stay longer and photograph these wonderful formations in the soft moonlight. On the other hand, being all by myself at night in this other worldly place, with a possibility to encounter coyotes or other wild life does mess with my sense of security… Now I need to find out what is the best way to stay protected from coyotes and such in these desert areas.
I think I still pushed it (everyone was gone for 30-40 minutes, and it was absolutely quiet & deserted) and stayed long enough to get a few unique photographs, one of which you are seeing here.
Little information about the tufas:
“Tufa is essentially common limestone. What is uncommon about this limestone is the way it forms. Typically, underwater springs rich in calcium (the stuff in your bones) mix with lakewater rich in carbonates (the stuff in baking soda). As the calcium comes in contact with carbonates in the lake, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate--limestone. The calcium carbonate precipitates (settles out of solution as a solid) around the spring, and over the course of decades to centuries, a tufa tower will grow. Tufa towers grow exclusively underwater, and some grow to heights of over 30 feet. The reason visitors see so much tufa around Mono Lake today is because the lake level fell dramatically after water diversions began in 1941.” (www.monolake.org/about/geotufa)
Pillars of creation
So, it is winter, it is getting cold in the evening, and everyone is gone. It is a 300 yard or so easy hike to the parking area. It is beautiful in the moonlight. What is the catch? The coyotes. I would have loved to stay longer and photograph these wonderful formations in the soft moonlight. On the other hand, being all by myself at night in this other worldly place, with a possibility to encounter coyotes or other wild life does mess with my sense of security… Now I need to find out what is the best way to stay protected from coyotes and such in these desert areas.
I think I still pushed it (everyone was gone for 30-40 minutes, and it was absolutely quiet & deserted) and stayed long enough to get a few unique photographs, one of which you are seeing here.
Little information about the tufas:
“Tufa is essentially common limestone. What is uncommon about this limestone is the way it forms. Typically, underwater springs rich in calcium (the stuff in your bones) mix with lakewater rich in carbonates (the stuff in baking soda). As the calcium comes in contact with carbonates in the lake, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate--limestone. The calcium carbonate precipitates (settles out of solution as a solid) around the spring, and over the course of decades to centuries, a tufa tower will grow. Tufa towers grow exclusively underwater, and some grow to heights of over 30 feet. The reason visitors see so much tufa around Mono Lake today is because the lake level fell dramatically after water diversions began in 1941.” (www.monolake.org/about/geotufa)