Alkali Valley, Nevada
2/11/07
Alkali Valley is in the Toiyabe National Forest, in the uninhabited Nevada portion of the Mono Basin. It is very remote and wild. It is adjacent to Cedar Hill, formerly an island in Ice-age Mono Lake. Cedar Hill, on the California side of the state line, was saved from subdivision plans when it was purchased a year ago by the Wilderness Land Trust.
Larkin Lake (dry), Cedar Hill, and the
White Mountains
Greg Reis Photo 2/3/07
Alkali Valley
Greg Reis Photo 2/3/07
Clam Shrimp in Larkin Lake
Greg Reis Photo 1/27/07
Clam Shrimp
Greg Reis Photo 1/27/07
There are numerous areas of dead sagebrush in and around Alkali Valley. What these areas appear to have in common is that they are all in swales or valley bottoms--low areas where water collects. One potential explanation is that the last two wet years have raised water tables in these areas to the point where the sagebrush cannot survive--it is too wet.
Area of dead sagebrush; Mt. Hicks in
background
Greg Reis Photo 2/3/07
Areas of dead sagebrush adjacent to Larkin
Lake appear grey in color.
Greg Reis Photo 2/3/07
Fireplace, remodeled for rodent use
Greg Reis Photo 2/3/07
Shorts weather in February at 8700 feet!
Greg Reis Photo 2/3/07
Ice reflecting sun around the edges of Mono
Lake
Greg Reis Photo 2/3/07
Wild Horses
Greg Reis Photo 1/27/07
Inches of precipitation measured at the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District's Simis Station, on the northeast shore of Mono Lake, and at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory's Paoha Island Station, at the south tip of the island:
| Year | Paoha Island | Simis Ranch | Missing Simis Data (annual proportion based on Lee Vining Precip) |
| 2000 | 2.8 | Jan-Mar (50% of annual) | |
| 2001 | 3.5 | 1.76 | Feb, Apr, Dec (1/3 of annual) |
| 2002 | 2.7 | 3.7 | Jan-Feb missing (1/15 of annual) |
| 2003 | 4 | 2.5 | Late June-late Aug (20% of annual) |
| 2004 | 4 | 6.3 | |
| 2005 | 9 | 10 | March-May (1/6 of annual) |
| 2006 | 9.5 | 9.7 |
Previous Photos of the
Week:
Ice Skating
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