Mono Lake South Tufa Grove at Sunrise

Mono Lake South Tufa Grove at Sunrise

Mono Lake South Tufa Grove at Sunrise
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Panoramic photo by Neil Parris Taken 13:59, 25/05/2009 - Views loading...

Mono Lake South Tufa Grove at Sunrise

The World > North America > USA > California

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This is a view of the South Tufa Grove of Mono Lake, part of the Mono Lake Tufa State reserve. The term Tufa (too'-fah) is the geological name given to these interesting rocky formations which have been created from Limestone. These towers of rock were actually created underwater when calcium rich springs interacted with a carbonate strong lake water; the reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate, or limestone.

So why are the tufas now above water? In 1941 water upstream of Mono Lake was diverted for drinking water for cities like Los Angeles. This caused the water levels at Mono Lake to fall dramatically leaving the Tufas exposed.

Looking around this sunrise panorama you will note the Tufa formations all around you, some reflecting in the still morning water. To the west are the spring time snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada.

For more information see the California State Parks site: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=514

And Mono Lake visitor information: http://www.monolake.org/

Nearby images in California

map

A: South Tufa - Mono Lake

by Jon Jasper, 30 meters away

Small bay along the shoreline of Mono Lake's towering Tufa formations.Tufa is essentially common lime...

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B: Mono Lake

by Marek Kosiba, 30 meters away

The salinity of Mono Lake is high, approximately 81 g/l. It contains chlorides, carbonates, and sulfa...

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C: South Tufa - Mono Lake

by Jon Jasper, 40 meters away

The inviting tufa formations on the shoreline of Mono Lake in California. Tufa is essentially common ...

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D: South Tufa - Mono Lake

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A little bay along the shoreline of the tufa formations of Mono Lake in California.Tufa is essentiall...

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E: Tufa at Mono Lake beach

by Armin Hornung, 230 meters away

Mono Lake is a shallow saline desert lake in the Sierra Nevada in Mono County, California. It is know...

Tufa at Mono Lake beach

F: Monolake in Winter

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The Tufa formations at Mono Lake look even more other-wordly in the snow. After many years of litigat...

Monolake in Winter

G: Visitor-Center-Mono-Lake-California-USA

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H: Ghost Town

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I: Miller Rooming and Conway House, Bodie

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J: Behind the Post Office, Bodie

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This panorama was taken in California, USA

This is an overview of USA

The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.

The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.

The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.

The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.

The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seatle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer.

Text by Steve Smith.

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