My Water Post for today.
I did discuss Mono Lake on this blog, but the photo was from the air (which is as close as I have ever been to it).
I painted the lake, too and so I have a real love of the tufas that majestically rise from the water.
I admit that this is not my photo, but a friend of a friends. When I saw it, I immediately knew I wanted this photo brought to my blog.
It is beautiful and I hope you enjoy seeing not only some water, but where Los Angeles' water comes from.
For those who have not seen it, here is my painting of Mono Lake. Just for comparison purposes. :-)
I have always wanted to go there!
ReplyDeleteYes I know I sound like a broken record, but I do Love Mondays. The picture is great!! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, it is great.
ReplyDeleteI went looking for my painting of Mono Lake and I don't seem to have a blog post showing it off. Maybe I will post it, for a side by side look.
What a fabulous place -- it looks positively alien! What is "tufa"?
ReplyDeleteHere you go, Piglet.
ReplyDeleteTufa 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.