Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Refreshing ‘Ologists: Sierra Nevada rain shadow

This post was written by Grace Aleman, 2015 Information Center & Bookstore Assistant and 2016 Mono Lake Intern.

Curious about what makes the east side of the Sierra Nevada so much drier than the west side? Join us this Wednesday, August 3 at 4:00pm in the Mono Lake Committee gallery to learn more, in the latest Refreshing ‘Ologist lecture….

Photo by Andrew Youssef.
The Mono Basin lies on the drier, eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. Photo by Andrew Youssef.

Benjamin Hatchett, a research scientist at the Desert Research Institute, will discuss what creates a stronger or weaker rain shadow effect during storms. He will also talk about how changes in the rain shadow affect streamflow on the dry side of mountains. Similarly, terminal lakes such as Mono Lake can act as rain gauges that rise and fall due to precipitation that falls within the rain shadow. Hope to see you there!