Mono, Winter, Dawn

Mono, Winter, Dawn

Mono Lake, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background. The “Tufa” towers, as they are called, are formed by underwater springs rich in calcium mixing 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 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.