The Tufa at Mono Lake
October 26th, 2006For us the most interesting feature of Mono Lake was the Tufa in the lake. At water’s edge we saw the tufa sticking out of the water. Tufa, limestone formed by underwater springs mixing with the highly salty Mono Lake, grows into towers as the springs bubble.
The tufas are in danger. As we walked along, we passed tufa no longer seeped in water. These tufas are dead. These tufas are no longer in water due to water diversions of Mono Lake tributary streams to Los Angeles. An example of the impact of water diversions is that in one 20 year period the lake dropped 25 vertical feet. We walked in areas where 50 years ago the water would have been above our heads and the tufa would have been underwater. No longer. Water diversions also have greatly effected bird migratory patterns and nesting. Visit the Mono Lake website to learn more.
OH WOW! Another AMAZING photo! What a sad story! I’m going to check out the Mono Lake website too. Mo