Mono Lake from the Peak of Mount Dana
This is a view looking east at Mono Lake from the 13,053-foot (3,979-meter) peak of Mount Dana, along the Yosemite National Park/Ansel Adams Wilderness border. Rising just above the Dana Plateau in the middle-ground, the full extent of the lake is visible.
Print No. A02-22-4
Here are more images from the Trail to Mount Dana.
Mono Lake Reflection
In this image, the tufa towers are seen on the left. Behind the tufa, the low, dark mound is Panum Crater. The eastern front of the Sierra jet up over a mile above this nearly mile-high area. You can even see a u-shaped valley between the two highest peaks in the Sierra skyline, Mount Gibbs on the left and Mount Dana on the right. The u-shaped valley formed as Pleistocene-age glaciers scoured the mountain range.
Print No. A98-34-10
Panum Crater
This rhyolitic plug-dome volcano was created only 600 years ago when rising magma contacted water just below the surface. The result was a violent explosion, sending ash and cinders high into the atmosphere and creating a ring of cinders around the vent. Inside the crater, a resurgent dome formed shortly after the initial eruption, much like what is currently happening inside Mount St. Helens. This dome (seen on the left) is made of the volcanic glass obsidian. Mono Lake is in the background.
Print No. A98-39-7
Sand Tufa
On the south side of the lake, adjacent to the South Tufa Towers, are these tufa deposits exposed in a cleft about five feet or so above the mid-1998 lake level. Structurally a little different from the tufa towers, these pillars have a fabric of vertical strands and tubes of sand cemented by calcium carbonate as the fresh water seeped up into the lake. The top is capped by a layer of calcium carbonate hardpan. This formation is apparently threatened by expansion plans for the parking facilities at the South Tufa area.
Print No. A98-39-1
Disappearing Walkway - Rising Lake
Taken from the old marina, this walkway is evidence of the recovery of Mono Lake as water levels have risen in recent years. You can see the tracks left where the walkway used to extend much further out into the lake.
Print No. A99-33-1
Negit Island
Negit Island is a volcanic complex that formed less than 2,000 years ago. Unlike the silica-rich Mono Craters, Negit Island is a basaltic volcano. The craters and cone were formed from repeat eruptions, the most recent being about 220 years ago.
Print No. A99-33-4
Mono Craters
On the south side of Mono Lake are the Mono Craters. This north-south 10-mile chain may be the youngest volcanic mountain range in North America. The last eruption in the Mono Craters chain occurred about 600 years ago at Panum Crater. The Mono Craters are plug dome volcanoes that began forming within the last 40,000 years.
Print No. A99-36-4
Coulee Flow, Mono Craters
On the east flank of the northernmost of the Mono Craters is a barren, craggy ridge. This ridge is a volcanic flow composed of obsidian with pumice and volcanic breccia. The most recent of these flows formed about 600 years ago as thick, viscous, silica-rich lava poured out from the adjacent vent and spread laterally, like toothpaste being slowly squeezed from a giant tube. It would have been fascinating to witness, if witnessing it were survivable.
Print No. A99-33-7
