Click here to go to the new photos added 11/21/03.
 |
| View of the project area from the Mono Basin
National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center. |
 |
| Aerial view of the Old Marina site. |
 |
| Aerial view of the highway between Old Marina and
Tioga Lodge. This is where fillslopes will meet the higher Water Board-mandated lake level. |
 |
| Ground view of the right half of the photo above.
Mono Lake will rise as much as 15 vertical feet according to hydrologic models, and at least one proposed fillslope will extend to this level. |
 |
| Aerial view just north of the photo above. |
 |
| Aerial view of the highway where it passes through
the wetlands near the High Sierra Brine Shrimp Plant. |
 |
|
The old road. This historical feature would be buried by
fill in many locations by |
 |
| The existing road fillslope reaches the
pre-diversion lake level of 6417 feet above sea level. |
 |
| Erosion continues from the decades-old fillslope. |
 |
| A unique mix of habitats occurs between the lake
and the road. Wetter areas contain grass, cattails, buffaloberry, willow, cottonwood, rose. |
 |
| Drier areas contain sagebrush, rabbitbrush, pinyon,
mahogany, and cheatgrass. |
 |
| This is the area surveyed on
November 19th.The photo was taken about 70 feet from the existing edge of the roadway and at the bottom of the existing fillslope. It is about 200 feet to the existing lakeshore. The proposed fillslope will extend to the shady area in the foreground at about 6400', the maximum expected elevation Mono Lake will reach. |
 |
| Looking at the same area from the lakeshore
(slightly to the north). The tall tree at the center without leaves is a Black Cottonwood. |
 |
| A beautiful spring with a huge amount of water
flowing from it can be found here at elevation 6389. It was Christened "Lone Olive Spring" by Jen during our survey (for the single nonnative Russian Olive tree growing next to it). |
 |
| A truck passes Lone Olive Spring. |
 |
| The channel carrying springwater to Mono Lake. The maps in the Caltrans project planning document show this area as "brush" and show no spring or creek. |
 |
| Another view of the channel carrying a copious amount of springwater. |
 |
| Lone Olive Spring provides essential freshwater to Mono Lake's abundant wildlife. Much of the lakeshore below the proposed project has springs and seeps that water luxuriant vegetation along Mono Lake's shore--a unique situation at a unique lake. Habitat loss, sedimentation, and pollution from a highway project in this area is unacceptable! |
Back to Mono Lake Widening Project Page
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|