Mono Lake Tufas at Sunset
by Armando Picciotto
Title
Mono Lake Tufas at Sunset
Artist
Armando Picciotto
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
This photograph was taken at sunset at Mono Lake, California. It is a 30 second exposure, which gave the water a beautiful shimmer, the sky lovely purple and rose colors, and the image an out-of-this-world look. Tufa is essentially common limestone. What is uncommon about this limestone is the way it forms. Typically, underwater springs rich in calcium mix with lakewater rich in carbonates. As the calcium comes in contact with carbonates in the lake, a chemical reaction occurs resulting in calcium carbonate--limestone. The limestone settles out 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.
Uploaded
December 15th, 2013
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