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Guide to the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection
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Title: Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection
Dates: 1947-2013
Bulk Dates: 1964, 1983-1988, 2011-2013
Collection number: Consult repository
Creator:
California State Parks
Collector:
California State Parks
Collection Size:
309 images
Repository:
Photographic Archives.
California State Parks
California State Parks
McClellan, CA 92262
Abstract: The Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection contains 309 cataloged images that date from 1947 through
2013. Images depict the property's various natural resources.
Physical location: For current information on the physical location of these materials, please consult the Guide to the California State Parks
Photographic Archives, available online.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research by appointment.
Property rights reside with the repository. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records. For permission to reproduce
or to publish, please contact the Head Curator of the California State Parks Photographic Archives.
[Identification of item including photographer and date when available], Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve Photographic
Collection, [Catalog number], California State Parks Photographic Archives, McClellan, California
Images donated by private parties, generated by California State Parks staff, and transferred from Mono Lake Tufa State Natural
Reserve at various dates.
Further accruals are expected.
Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, located in Mono County, is comprised of several discontiguous land parcels spaced at
irregular intervals around the Mono Lake shoreline. Encompassed by the larger Inyo National Forest and directly adjacent to
Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area and Mono Lake County Park, the state park unit is less than two miles north of the
census-designated place of Lee Vining. The park is accessible by car via Picnic Shortcut Road and U.S. Route 395.
Prior to the water-diversion activities of the City of Los Angeles and the conservation battle that followed, Mono Lake had
existed for over one million years, fed by rich salt- and mineral-laden Sierra streams. The lake basin provided a seasonal
home to the Kucadikadi, a band of Northern Paiute, for thousands of years. Their name translating to “eaters of the brine
fly pupae,” the Kucadikadi also subsisted on several varieties of local waterfowl, jackrabbits, deer, mountain sheep, and
an abundance of local plants, seeds, and roots. The area not only served the tribe as a summer home, but also as an embarkation
point by which to trade with other groups across the Sierra mountain range. Today, many Kucadikadi members are formally enrolled
in such federally recognized tribes as the Paiute, the Washoe, the Yokuts, the Miwok, and the Western Mono Tribe, while others
seek recognition as the Sierra Southern Miwok and the Mono Lake Indian Community.
In 1913, the City of Los Angeles first diverted water from the Owens River into the Los Angeles Aqueduct to sustain the fast-growing
metropolis. By 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, requiring ever more water resources for its expansive
population, extended the aqueduct into the Mono Basin. As a result, by 1982 the lake had reduced by nearly a third of its
1941 level, exposing roughly 17,000 acres of recessional lands—exposed lakebed land below the elevation of 6,417 feet above
sea level. Concerned by the deleterious effects to the lake’s ecosystem, as well as the hazards of wind-blown alkali dust
on local air quality, in 1978 the Mono Lake Committee formed and partnered with the National Audubon Society to wage legal
conservation efforts to protect the steadily diminishing resource. In 1982, the State of California acquired the discontiguous
shoreline parcels in order to preserve the rare tufa columns in the recessional lands; it classified the park unit a state
reserve via legislation that year and later changed it to “state natural reserve” via legislation in 2004. On September 28,
1994, the State Water Resources Control Board issued an order to preserve Mono Lake and its tributary streams, a policy intended
to raise the water level to its historic level.
California State Parks, in coordination with the U.S. Forest Service and the Friends of Mono Lake Reserve (a subsidiary of
the Bodie Foundation), preserves and interprets valuable natural resources at Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve. To preserve
and provide public access to the rare tufa columns, the park includes ranger-guided walks along a constructed boardwalk, as
well as the jointly owned and operated Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center. Camping facilities are available at nearby Inyo
National Forest as the state park unit is day-use only.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve Photographic Collection spans the years 1947-2013, with the bulk of the collection
covering the years 1964, 1983-1988, and 2011-2013. There is a total of 309 cataloged images, including 43 photographic prints,
scans, and negatives, 45 35mm slides, and 221 born-digital images. Photographs originated from California State Parks staff.
The collection primarily documents the natural landscapes and their contained resources within the park unit. Such natural
features include Mono Lake, surrounding mountains, tufa columns, recessional lands, and nearby Mono Crater. Aerial and landscape
images include shots taken at various locations: South Shore, Black Point, Paoha Island, the Old Marina, Mono Lake County
Park, Lee Vining Creek, and South Navy Beach.
In addition to the park unit’s natural features, the collection also documents the park’s minimal built environment. Images
depict exterior views of the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center and the Ranger Station, in addition to the parking lot
and wooden shoreline boardwalk.
The collection also depicts several visiting photographers enjoying the park’s scenic qualities. Images span from the 1960s
through the 2010s, illustrating the resources’ lasting visual appeal for visitors.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
California. Department of Parks and Recreation
California. State Water Resources Control Board
Inyo National Forest (Calif. and Nev.)
Los Angeles Aqueduct (Calif.)
Los Angeles (Calif.) Department of Water and Power
Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area (Calif.)
Mono County (Calif.)
Mono Craters (Calif.)
Mono Lake (Calif.)
Mono Lake Committee
Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve (Calif.)
National Audubon Society
Natural resources
United States. Forest Service
Water--California--Management.
Related Material at California State Parks
Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve Collection
Related Material at Other Repositories
Mono Lake Committee Collection, UC Riverside: Water Resources Collections and Archives
Owens valley Collection, Water Resources Collection, Claremont Colleges: Honnold/Mudd Library
State Water Rights Board Records, California State Archives
Water Resources Control Board Records, California State Archives