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Sierra Nevada peaks & tufa towers reflect in Mono Lake, South Tufa Area, Lee Vining, California.

Sierra Nevada peaks and tufa towers reflect in alkaline waters at South Tufa Area, Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, Lee Vining, California, USA. Orange and yellow algae adds to the color palette of blues. The Reserve protects wetlands that support millions of birds, and preserves Mono Lake's distinctive tufa towers -- calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. Mono Lake has no outlet and is one of the oldest lakes in North America. Over the past million years, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams and evaporation has made the water 2.5 times saltier than the ocean. This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp, and provides critical nesting habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp and blackflies. Since 1941, diversion of lake water tributary streams by the city of Los Angeles lowered the lake level, which imperiled the migratory birds. In response, the Mono Lake Committee won a legal battle that forced Los Angeles to partially restore the lake level.

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1507CAL-2405_Mono-Lake-CA.jpg
Copyright
© Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
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4000x6000 / 6.9MB
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Contained in galleries
California: Sierras: Mono Lake, 2015 Jul 5-23: all: Sierra Nevada + Castle Crags, California
Sierra Nevada peaks and tufa towers reflect in alkaline waters at South Tufa Area, Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, Lee Vining, California, USA. Orange and yellow algae adds to the color palette of blues. The Reserve protects wetlands that support millions of birds, and preserves Mono Lake's distinctive tufa towers -- calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. Mono Lake has no outlet and is one of the oldest lakes in North America. Over the past million years, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams and evaporation has made the water 2.5 times saltier than the ocean. This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp, and provides critical nesting habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp and blackflies. Since 1941, diversion of lake water tributary streams by the city of Los Angeles lowered the lake level, which imperiled the migratory birds. In response, the Mono Lake Committee won a legal battle that forced Los Angeles to partially restore the lake level.
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