Lundy Canyon, October 14, 2011. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

Spectacular colors in the Mono Basin are emerging in Lundy and Lee Vining canyons. Upper and lower elevation stands are a mixture of brilliant color and aspens-yet-to-show. Aspens along the June Lake Loop, particularly along Silver Lake and Grant Lake, are displaying yellows, reds, and oranges, and are just beginning to reach their peak (at least one week later than normal!). Warm sunny days and cool nights have accelerated anthocyanin production. Mild weather in the coming week will help to preserve the display through at least next weekend. Overall we can expect another two weeks of xanthous, ocherous, glory.

American White Pelicans over Mono Lake. Photo by Tom Piekunka.

In March and April the brine shrimp are too small and alkali flies are scarce. Mono Lake does not get a lot of attention from birds on their spring migration, especially piscivores. But the birds do pass by as they wing north along the Pacific Flyway. Recently a large flock of American White Pelicans transited the Mono Basin. It’s a rare and spectacular sight to see these massive birds soaring overhead. Tom Piekunka snapped this beautiful image of American White Pelicans circling over the eastern portion of Mono Lake. With a steady hand and 400mm lens Tom was able to capture the nuptial tubercles located on the upper bills, a feature that adult pelicans grow each year as the breeding season approaches.

Sometime during the night of March 15, during another Sierra winter storm, a large rock broke loose from the northern ridge above Lundy Canyon. The van-sized boulder tumbled down hundreds of feet before it found a new home along the southern shoulder of the Lundy Road. Jeffrey pines were the only witnesses to, and victims of, the boulder’s kinetic journey. The local Mono County/Lee Vining road crew discovered the chunk of granite the morning of March 16 as they returned to plow the road. The rock fall occurred along a stretch of road containing several day-use areas, about a half-mile below the Lundy Canyon campground. The accelerated expansion of the universe excepted, gravity always gets its way.

New, temporary addition to the Lundy Canyon Road.

More than just snow falls in Lundy Canyon. Notice small dent in road.

Bowling for Jeffreys. There must be a dead squirrel around here somewhere!

ISS image of Mono Lake, where arsenic and abundant life both exist. Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center.

Mono Lake is usually in the spotlight for photographers, birders, and those seeking solutions to balanced water needs in California. You don’t see many geochemists, astrobiologists, or NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory staff plying Mono’s shoreline. However, they certainly have been around over the years, and it seems that Mono Lake is getting a little more attention due to it harboring an arsenic-eating microbe. The greater implication for our understanding of life here and elsewhere is exciting … but don’t conclude that Mono Lake is a toxic, arsenic-saturated lake!

There is arsenic in Mono Lake, but it’s (more…)

ISS image of Mono, Walker, Tahoe, Pyramid lakes with Western Nevada and California to the Pacific. Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth."

NASA recently reported that Earth’s largest lakes have warmed in response to climate change. While Mono Lake is not a data point in this study, its neighbors to the north—Pyramid Lake and Lake Tahoe—reveal a small upward trend in warming. In December 2009 NASA revealed that Mono Lake, among other lakes in the region, was warming (more…)

Given that many aspen did not leaf out until June this year, the peak color season is running late in some parts of the Mono Basin and Eastern Sierra. Lee Vining Canyon and Lundy Canyon are anywhere from 5-10 days from peak display depending on elevation. The June Lake Loop is just beginning to hit full color. Aspen are showing well up-canyon in most locations. This will be a slow, late-blazing October. The best is yet to come in the Mono Basin!

Early in the afternoon on July 3 smoke was reported coming from beneath the boardwalk below Mono Lake County Park. Local Lee Vining volunteer, Inyo National Forest, and Bureau of Land Management firefighters quickly responded. Forty five feet of boardwalk and one acre of grass and willows were destroyed before the blaze was contained. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the boardwalk is closed until further notice. Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve staff  say the boardwalk will have to be rebuilt through the burned section. There is currently no estimate on when repairs might be completed.

If you have questions, or if you have information that may be of interest regarding this fire, call the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve at (760) 647-6331.