The Mono Basin by George L. Batchelder Pleistocene Geology Ar

The Mono Basin by George L. Batchelder

Pleistocene Geology Ar ona State University Dr. T. L. PM, Professor June.1, 1967 TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of „ILLUSTRATIONS Abstract ...... iii

INTRODUCTION 1

General statement ...... 1 Historical background ...... 2

PHYSICAL SETTING AND BIOTA 4 Evidence for lake FLUCTUCTUATIONS 13 Lake sediments ...... 13 Shorelines and deltas ...... 14 Overflow ...... 16 Tufa towers ...... 17 Pleistocene history of the area 18 Causes of Pluvial Lake fluctuaticns ...... 20 Dating and correlation ...... 23 ii

List .of Tables and Figures

Number Title following page

Figure 1 Location of Lake Russell and some other Pluvial Lakes 1 Figure 2 Geophysical sub-provinces 2 Figure 3 Mono Lake vacinity 7 Figure 4 Lake Russell maximum and associated glaciations 7 Table 1 Pleistocene correlation chart, mid-west and west-central U.S. 8 Figure 5 Plant belts of the Sierra Nevada 10 Table 2 Vertebrate fauna of the Mono Basin 12 Figure 6 Tioga moraines and shorelines, Leevining Creek 15 Figure 7 Lake Russell-Lake Manly Pluvial Lake system 16 Table 3 Summary of Mono Lake area dates 24 III

Abstract

The hydrographic basin of present MONO LAKE,

CALIFORNIA offers a UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY for the

STUDY OF PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION INCLUDING multiple advances during Wisconsin and NUMEROUS

LACUSTRINE FLUCTUATIONS OF PLUVIAL LAKE RUSSELL.

Absolute radiometric DATES AND POSSIBLE correlations with mid-western episodes have been established. Local McGee Till (Nebraskan) is less than 2.6 m.y., Sherwin TILL (KANSAN) GREATER than 700,000 y., while Mono Basin Till (Illinoian) is poorly ESTABLISHED. EARLY IN THE WISCONSIN Age Tahoe Till (60,000-90,000 B P) represented

THE GREATEST extent of glaciers into the basin and the highest EVIDENT LAKE LEVEL. OVERFLOW or Lake Russell and its entrance into the Owens

VALLEY-DEATH VALLEY PLUVIAL LAKE SYSTEM MAY HAVE occurred only AT THIS TIME, LATER WISCONSIN

ADVANCE IS represented by Tioga Till (9,800±

800 BP). SOME TILL (TENAYA) OCCURS BETWEEN TIOGA and Tenaya tills in a few valleys. Rhyolite domes of Recent origin (61000-1C 000 y.) occur on the lake's south shore,

THE FORTUITOUS LATITUDE ( 38c 0d) and the degree OF RELIEF (12,000-6,300 FEET) PROVIDE

CONDITIONS for the establishment of two major biotic Provinces within the Mono Basin: the IV semi-arid Nevadan and the relatively cool and humid Sierra Nevadan. The RESULT OF this RANGE OF

HABITAT IS A PRESENT FLORA and fauna with groat opportunity for development of ecotypes,

GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONI and incipient species. Climatic changes of Pleistocene time may have moved the Province boundary out of the basin, though the same genetic factors presumably operated.

CLIMATIC VARIATIONS LEADING to these present geologic and biotic characteristics, involved

THE decrease of evaporation with increased precipitation due to world-wide SOUTHWARD DIS- placement of the tempestuous Polar Easterlies by

HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEMS DEVELOPED over the polar

ICE FIELDS. AS THE Easterlies shifted northward

AGAIN THE PLUVIAL periods would come to an end. 1 INTRODUCTION

GENERAL STATEMENT.

BETWEEN the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, forming

the major part of the Basin and Range PROVINCE OF WESTERN United States, lies the Great Basin. Though semantically SUGGESTIVE OF a single depression this area is actually

COMPOSED OF A SERIES OF 160 PARALLEL AND SUB-PARALLEL

block-fault mountain RANGES, TRENDING NW to SE, with at • LEAST 150 intermediate basins. Though lying within the Sierra

rain shadow, the pattern of parallel RANGES AND precipitation throughout the QUATERNARY effectively isolated these basins

from each other so that MANY CLOSED LAKES were formed during TIMES OF INCREASED PRECIPITATION AND decreased evaporation.

At the western edge of THIS PHYSLOGRAPHIC province lies

a unique basin, the Mono Basin (see Figure 1). LIKE THE

OTHERS throughout most of the Pleistocene it was isolatedl

but because of its fortuitous proximity to the peaks of THE Sierras, it was one of the two areas within the Great Basin where glacial and lacustrine maxima were synchronous (Eesseli, 1948;, Putnam, 1950) and tracable. The Mono Basin, • which extends from 12,000 feet above sea level at the head, waters of Rush Creek on Et. Lyell to the present lake level at. 6300 feet, contains elements of two biotic communities, the SEMI-ARID NEVADAN Province of the Great Basin and the relatively HUMID, MONTANE Sierra Province,alons with associated communities., This ecological variation is also of anthropological significance, for though the area is not rich in anthropological material, the recognition of the importance

FIGURE 1

LOCATION OF LAKE RUSSELL AND SOME OTHER PLUVIAL LAKES

(AFTER SNYDER, C. T., HARDMAN, G., AND ZDENEK, F. F., 1964)

es. am .•••••■•• ■••■•

■■••••••

6T- .4.•4 .•.

1 ICEY

1. LAKE LAHONTAN ( 4 7 A 2. LAKE RUSSELL 3. LAKE ADOBE \' 4. LAKE LONG VALLEY K > 5. LAKE OWENS 6. LAKE SEARLES CZ,C=:• 1 7. LAKE PANAMINT , 8. LAKE MANLY EZ, 9. LAKE BONNEVILLE

LEO

NTLE144.2.4ER'S 73— 157O 225- of local ecological factors on human culture and its contribution to anthropological theory (Meighan, 1961; Spencer and Jennings et al., 1965, p. 274), may find tangible support in an ecotone such as this. Because of this inter-disciplinary appeal of the Mono Basin and vicinity, it is the purpose of this paper to summarize some of the pertinent knowledge of its Quaternary history and present conditions, Historical background As suggested above, the geographic and. climatic extremes of the Great Basin rendered its human inhabitants particularly sensitive to biotic variation as controlled by variations in precipitation, evaporation, wind. and temperature. Thus the paleo-indians of the area in the last 10,000 years (Spencer et al., 1965) were a nomadic hunting and gathering culture, the success or failure of pinyon nut harvest often determining the travel routes, camp locations social interaction, and food habits for several seasons. Roots were such an important part of the diet that in some areas the early white settlers called the Great Basin Shoshone, the "Diggers". In Pre-Colombian times the Northern Paiutes of Western Nevada and Eastern California had no domesticated animal except the dog (Spencer, et a., 1965, p. 275), so that such bizarre sources of food as the tiny brine shrimp larvae (ArtemAa) in Mono Lake were gathered from the wave-washed windrows by local Indians who therefore called themselves n "Kutsavidukada , the "Kutsavi eaters". Likewise, fish l waterfowl, insects and reptiles were utiliz,ed, as well as over 300 plants for medicinal USE ALONE.

EFFECTIVELY BARRED FROM READY exchange with their coastal neighbors by the Sierra Range, THIS HUNTING and gathering dependence continued until WHITE SETTLERS ESTABLISHED

THEMSELVES IN EASTERN CALIFORNIA DURING the 19th CENTURY. (For a brief history of white-Indian relationships in the

Owens VALLEY SEE SCHUMACHER, 1962.)

' THE FIRST WHITE MAN to SUCCESSFULLY CROSS the sierras was probably Jedediah Smith, who passed through Ebbetts Pass

IN 1826. THE FIRST WHITE MAN TO ENTER THE Mono Basin itself was Joseph Walker in 1833. Scientific investigation did not follow until 1863-1864 when the California Geological Survey sent a mapping and exploratory crew to investigate Lake Tahoe and the area to its south. In 1875 J.Ð. Whitney entered the Mono Basin specifically to study THE MONO Craters. After that time exploration of the eastern flank of the Sierras became common, as shown by the descriptions of John Muir started in 1869, the 1877-1878 Survey of the 40th parallel and the 1875 Wheeler Survey investigating the Tahoe region.

THE CLASSIC FIELD STUDY OF THE MONO BASIN WAS INITIATED

BY FIELD WORK IN 1685 AND CULMINATED WITH I.C. RUSSELL'S definitive monograph of 18890 In this work Russell describes and maps evidence for Pleistocene glaciation of the eastern Sierras and the synchronous expansion of the oxisting 4 water body to an estimated maximum surface of 267 square miles (Snyder, Hardman; Zdeneh, 1964) during pluvial times, This ancient lake was appropriately named Lake Russell by Putnam in 1949, Geological work in the area since 1889 has served to verify or extend and modify Russell's early descriptions, especially concerning the location and chronology of multiple glaciations and the succeSsions of previous shorelines cut by waves of the fluctuating lake surface. Physical setting The Mono Basin lies at the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 350 miles north of Los Angeles and 180 miles east of San Francisco, Putnam (1950) has described four sub-provinces within the area, namely the Sierra Nevada,morainal belt, lake plains and the Mono-lnyo Craters. (see Figure 2). Of these four features the most striking is the Sierra Nevada Mountains, whose flanks rise 6000 feet above the lake plain without the usual interceding zone of foothills, The resulting proximity of high peaks allowed valley glaciers to reach the shore of pluvial Lake Russell, leaving their telltale lateral, terminal and recessional moraines, some of which were to be period- ically scarred by lacustrine advances and retreats, While studying the geology of the Big Trees Quadrangle, Turner (1898) was the first to recognize the occurrence of more than one glaciation in the Sierras, although the presence of extensive 1acal remains had Figure 2

t i i X / .... — —• -1 X XL'''l 1.. I XX ..k. .. X C K X y x re o( K % X X A , x x X 4 K X X .4 X x X g x xt X X X A- ./C )C XX N X X X X X X x ,( x X 34 K • XX,i OS ,, t< X X xX x x X:A A: x X k" te X X X x X X X X X X x le X x X X k X )C xx x Xxx A X x x X X x ..X 14 4 X K g x xX.X

X,4 i( K X V vl X X X X )( Lake k A' X

2.* . • - :3,1° 5 been noted by J.D. Whitney (1865), John Muir (1872;,in Black- King welder(1931),-. (1878) and J. C. Russell (1889). The latter suggested the occurrence of three glaciations, although he was hesitant to prescribe associated interglacial epochs despite Gilbert's (1890) suggestion of such, throughout the Cordilleran region. The unpublished annotated photographs of W.D. Johnson, who had been one of Russell's assistants,

ARE the first detailed description and identification

_ OF MULTIPLE GLACIATION BETWEEN THE West Walker

RIVER AND MONO LAKE.

IN .1931 BLACKWELDER'S CLASSIC WORK ON THE

Pleistocene glaciations of the Sierras describes

AND NAMES FOUR distinct glaciations in the Sierras. These are the McGee, Sherwin Tahoe and Tioga, which he correlated with the NEBRASKAN, EANSAN, IOWAN

.AND LATE Wisconsin standard sections of the mid west in 1931. He presumed that eventually till of Illinoian age would be found on the EAST FLANK OF the SIERRAS. Though not represented in the Mono Basin,

MCGEE TILL IS FOUND SCATTERED ON A RIDGE 3000-3330 feet above the plain at the foot of Mt. Morrison. The till consists of granitic rocks resting upon metamorphic rocks (Blackwelder, 1931, p, 902),

ERRATICS OF PRESUMED McGee age also rest on the summit

OF A MOUNTAIN SOUTH EAST OF THE WEST WALKER CANYON

NEAR ER 17 MILES NORTH OF LAKE RAINST7AL. The type area for Sherwin till lies outside of Mono Rasim at Sherwin Hill, northwest of Bishop. Here a large sheet of hummocky till is all that remains of the morainal deposits of the time. Through the till and into the underlying granite, Rock Creek has out to a depth of 600 feet, Smaller areas of Sherwin till are found scattered in localities on mountain spurs southwest of Mono Lake.. The most conspicious moraines of the Mono Basin are those of Blackwelder's Tahoe glacial advance consisting of massive ridges of glacial till several hundred feet high. Because of their size these can be easily identified in almost every major valley from Big Pine, in the Owens Valley, north to Truckee, Within Mono Basin the most prominent laterals extend from the canyons of June Lake, Rush Creek, Parker Canyon, Bloody Canyon (Walker Creek), Leevining Canyon and Lundy Canyon, (Figures 3,4). Often deposited concentrically within the walls of the larger Tahoe laterals, are found smaller, often indistinct,laterals and recessionals of the

later Tiega .advance. Differentiation between the tills of Tahoe and Tioga is frequently based upon surface boulder count, and the degree of weathering, a technique employed extensively by Blackwelder (1931). For instance, the typical Tahoe moraine will have an average of 70 boulders (greater than 1 foot in diameter) per acre; seldom are there more 7 than 200 per acre. Tioga moraines, ON THE other hand, have an average of 2000 (300-7000) exposed .boulders per acre. The comparative degree of weathering was noted between granidiorite boulders on different tills, Three degrees of decomposition were used: 1.) almost unweathered, 2.) notably decayed on the surface but still solid, 3.) greatly weathered, cavernous, or rotten (Blackwelder, 1931, p. 877). Thus a "granite weathering ratio" (PR) of 0-20-e0 would occur in only the oldest tills, and on a 70-20-10 on much younger moraines. In 1963 Sharp and Birman published evidence for two more glaciations. One the Mono Basin

GLACIATION, FILLED IN the long expected gap correlating with the Illinoian advance in the mid west, (However, Birkeland (1964) in a personal communication to Morrison disagrees, saying that

this till is AN EARLY TAHOE), THE TYPE locality

OF THIS GLACIATION ACCORDING TO SHARP AND BIRMAN

OCCURS ALONG THE SIDES OF SAWMILL CANYON, southwest of Mono Lake. Here are two older lateral

moraines THAT lie at an oblique angle to THE YOUNGER Tahoe forms also extending from Bloody CANYON (SEE

Figures 3,4). IT IS DEDUCED FROM BOULDER COUNT, degree of weathering, and the different angle of emergence from the valley that these represent a post-Sherwin, pre-Tahoe till, namely the Mono Basin

Figure 3

42/ Mono Lake and Vacinity (after Russell, 1889)

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Lake Russell Maximum and Associated Glaciations (Tahoe) (after Russell, 1889; Blackwelder, 1931) Figure 4

- 5 0 /4- 6 A0 2,

0 10, F- 0 10-SI, LA GLACIATION. ALSO, BEHIND THE HUGE TAHOE MORAINES,

BUT IN FRONT OF THE TIOGA TERMINALS, LIE SMALL laterals of an intermediate age. This, THE TENAYA till, is also found at Leevining, Rush and Pine Creeks (Sharp and Birman, 1963), Thus, a threefold sub-division of Wisconsin in the Mono Basin has been established. (See Table 1 for correlation and historical development.) As with the pre-Wisconsin glaciations each subsequent ice advance was less extensive than its immediate predecessor, a fortunate circumstance for the reconstruction of paleoenvironments. The third sub-province suggested by Putnam (1949) is that of the lake plains which are most

EXTENSIVELY developed at the west end of Mono Lake, but which continues in a narrower band along both sides of the lake to the eastern shore where valleys and glacial debris from the Sierra alter the plains topography. The broad, gently sloping to the north was once the floor of pluvial Lake Russell, which

AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT CAUSED CEDAR Hill to become an island. This floor has remained almost undisturbed since that time, so that a series OF LOW,LEVEL-TOPPED, concentric, gravel ridges 75-100 feet wide and several miles long (Russell, 1889) mark some of the major fluctuations in lake level as evaporation overcame input during the more RECENT INTERGLACIAL periods..

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THE FINAL SUB-PROVINCE OF THE PRESENT HYDRO-

GRAPHIC BASIN IS THE MONO-INYO CRATERS COMPLEX.

THIS 19 MILE SERIES OF rhyolitic DOMES AND

OBSIDIAN FLOWS EXTENDS TOWARD THE SOUTH FROM THE

SOUTHERN SHORE OF LAKE RUSSELL. THOUGH THE MOST

NORTHERN OF CRATERS (PANUM) OCCURS BELOW THE LEVEL

OF THE HIGHEST BEACH, ITS FLANKS ARE UNCUT BY SHORE-

LINES. THIS, PLUS THE PRESENCE OF LAPILLI AND PUMICE

ON TAHOE AND TIOGA MORAINES AND THE LACK OF LACUSTRINE:

SEDIMENTS ON PANUM CRATER, ALL SUGGEST THAT IT, AND

PROBABLY OTHER VENTS, WERE ACTIVE IN POST-PLUVIAL

TIMES.

OTHER TRACES OF VOLCANISM OCCUR IN VARIOUS locations WITHIN THE BASIN. FOR EXAMPLE, PAOHA Island has a Recent age lava flow from its northern

SHORE, SINCE NO LAPILLI OR PUMICE IS FOUND ON ITS

SURFACE. ALSO ON THE NORTH CHORE IS A FLOW OF NON-

ROPEY LAVA, AGAIN WITHOUT A PUMICE VENEER, SUGGESTING

VERY RECENT development AT A PERIOD WHEN THE LAKE

WAS AT A LOWER LEVEL, RUSSELL (1889) ESTIMATED

THAT THERE 10-15 RAISED OR SUBSURFACE CRATERS,

INCLUDING BLACK NEGIT ISLAND, WHICH HAVE DEVELOPED

SINCE the major volcanic activity of Mono Craters.

BIOTIC CONDITIONS While Mono hydrographic basin overlaps two great physiographic provinces, IT IS JUST AS thoroughly transected by two biotic provinceso the arid to 10 semi-arid Nevadan Province of the Great Basin, and the relatively humid montane Sierra Province (Munz and Yeck, 1963, p. 9). In this basin the Nevadan Province is represented by only 8 genera within four families, mostly low shrubs and small trees. The Sierran dominant types number 20 genera in ten families (Reveal, 1965). In both Provinces five distinct plant communities are recognized: the Alpine, Sub-Alpine and Jeffrey Pine Forest are in the Sierra Province while the Pinyon-Juniper Woodland and Sagebrush Scrub are in the Nevadan Province Pee Figure %.for combination of vecwtation zones and plant com- MUNITIESEFMUNZ and Yncl- — Characteristically the Alpine Fell-fields are - 1985) above timberline, which here in the Mono Basin lie above 10,500 feet. Characteristic species include Timberline Blue rats (Poa ruoicpla), Lupine (Lupinip

lza3.1.1.), Alpine Willow (0a145. pe.TRPPHOLA),WHITEBARK , Pine (Pinup Lodgepole Pine (P. ' IIIrrayana) and Mountain Hemlock (Tsuv,', Moytensiana). The last three species occur as Elfin wood.

THE SUB-ALPINO FOREST (9,500-103500 feet) is characterized by patches of conifers interspersed with open meadows. Some of the common species include:

WILD BUCKWHEAT .(ERIOAPNU INCA M), PAR2Y'S RABBIT

BRUSH (CHRY.sothamus PARRA.), ROTHROCK SAGEBRUSH

( ARTEASIA Rothrgekli,), IODGEPOLE PINE, WHITEBARK Fine, Mountain Hemlock and Dwarf Juniper (Jun 'us Figure 5

PLANT 'BELTS ( 0 1 TP • • • OF 4,E. SIERRA NEVICTB (after Storer and Usinger, 1966; Munz and Keck, 1965) KEVZEIA

-E>E,,C7A1 .R....EGIERV\-

SECCRE PINE.

DESE (--L

PACI

OF.°.QZ KFT 11 The Jeffrey Pine Forest between 7000-9500 feet, is dominated by its,type species the Jeffrey Fine (Pinus Jeffreyi), These shallow ROOTED trees suffer from this characteristic, PARTICULARLY IN THE LOOSE

PUMICE COVERED AREAS of the Mono Basin, where they

ARE EASILY TOPPLED BY WINTER STORMS, THE WINDROWS

THUS FORMED ARE SOMETIMES confused WITH PARALLEL rock strata in air photos. Other typical species

OF THIS ZONE ARE MOUNTAIN BIG SAGEBRUSH' (ARTEMESIA

TRIDEQTATA SAP. VASAAQA), WHITE STEM RABBITBRUSH

(CHRIAOTHAMNUS nauseosus), ANTELOPE BITTERBUSH (Furshia tridentata), White fir (Abies concolor),

AND QUAKING ASPEN (12PU1UE TREMULOIDES). The Pinyon-Juniper Woodland is a zone whose

RANGE VARIES CONSIDERABLY throughout the Mono Basin,

FROM GREATER than 8000 feet to below 4000 FEET. Several predominant species include the Big Sagebrush, Black Sagebrush (A. nova), Sticky Rabbitbrush (0. sap,

VISPIDIFLQRUS), MOUNTAIN MAHOGHANY ( CEROCARPUS

LEDIFOLIUS., MORMON TEA (EPHEDRA VIRLDIS ), SINGLE

LEAF PINYON ( PI US MONAPHYLLA) AND UTAH JUNIPER

(JUNIPER9.s. osteosporma). Below the Pinyon-Juniper zone lies the Sage-

BRUSH SCRUB COMMUNITY WHICH COVERS MOST OF MONO BASIN

EAST OF THE BASE OF THE SIERRAS, THIS ZONE, WHICH covers more than 250,000 square miles throughout

THE WESTERN states is dominated by ISOLATED BIG

SAGEBRUSH BUSHES AND SCATTERED BUNCH GRASSES. IN 12 some areas Bitterbrush (Purshia tridontata) replaces sagebrush and serves as a DEER AND CATTLE BROWSE. On the alkaline soils, especially near evaporite areas, Rabbitbrush replaces sagebrush and Bitterbrush, but is of no VALUE TO BROWSING animals. It should be pointed out that these floral zones are not clearly delineated by altitude alone.

For instance, Jeffrey PINE WILL FORM TONGUE LIKE extensions down stream valleys of the Pinyon-

JUNIPER ZONE which drain cold air from above and offer temperature ranges compatible to that of upland species. The result of such fluctuation is an irregular integrating of all zones, though the

GENERAL LIMITS THUS DESCRIBED DOMINATE LOCAL

TOPOGRAPHIC OR EDAPHIC FACTORS.

The development of a FAUNAL ECOTONE IS LIKEWISE seen in the seasonal exchanges of montane and semi- arid species along THE EASTERN FLANK OF THE SIERRAS, including Mono Basin. The topography of the eastern shore of Mono Lake is vertically abrupt, rising

MORE THAN 6000 at within 4,5 miles, to the crest

OF MT, WARR, FROM THE SHORES OF ANCIENT LAKE

RUSSELL thc WAS A COMPARABLE 5000 FOOT RISE FROM

WHERE THE BLOODY CANYON GLACIER MET LAKE WATERS

AT 7000 FEET, TO THE TOP OF LUNA CREST. THE RESULT

IS A PROBABLE VERTICAL MIGRATION OF ANIMALS WITHIN

OR NEAR MONO BASIN, WHICH LIKE MOST OF THE GEOLOGICAL .TABLE 2

Genus and Species LOMMN Name HABLT9 Superclass Pisces

Salmo clarki cut-throat trout Lahontan DRAINAE; Walker River Prosopium MOUNTAIN WHITEFISH LAHONTAN DRAINASE; WILLIAMSONI Walker River I Catostomus(sp.) western sucker common; to over 6000 ft.

Pantosteus LAHONTAN MOUNTAIY STREAMS AND LAKES lahontan SUCKER

Rhinichthes SPECHLEDACE STREAMS AND LAKES osculus

Richardsonius Lahontan redside LAHONTAN System egresius

3IPHATELES TUICHUB EASTERN SLOPE OF SIERRAS BICOLOR

ICTALURUS brown BULLHEAD LAKES NEBULOSUS

LEPOMIS(SP.) sunfishes COMMON; LAKES

OOTTUS SCULPIN STREAMS OF LAHONTAN SYSTEM BELDINSII

GASTEROSTEUS THREE-SPINED 'introduced to eastern ACULEATUS STICKLEBACK slope TABLE 2

GENUS . AND S ECIES Common Name habitat/characteristics Class Amphibia

SCAPHIOPUS Great Basin spade foot toad' sagebrush flats, pinyon intermontanu pine-,Juniper to 8500 ft. Bufo boreas western toad JUNIPER TO 8500 FT. Ryla regilla Pacific tree toad toepads; to 11,000 ft. in Sierras

RANA pipiens leopard frog 'scattered at western edge PIPIENS og Great Basin TABLE 2

Genus and Species COMMON NAME HABITAT/ characteristics Class Reptilia Crotophytus long-nosed leopard lizard large leopard spots;open areas wislizenii C. collaris collared lizard conspicuous black collar; rock dweller Sceloporus barred, spiny lizard juniper and mesquite woodland; magister diet:insents and lizards transversus S. occidentali Great Basin fence lizard sides of belly blue;diet: insect biseriatus and spiders S. graciosus northern sagebrush lizard often black bar on shoulder graciosus

Uta stansburia northern side-blotched sympatric subspecies na lizard stanisburian U. S. DESERT side-blotched lizard stejnegeri Thamnophis valley garter snake sirtalis fitchi T. elegans wandering garter snake terrestrial and aquatic vagrans no red marks T, e. elegans mountain garter snake terrestrial and aquatic NO RED MARKS

T. couchi Sierra garter snake aquatic; diet: fish, couch' frogs, tadpoles, salamanders; viviparous Sonora western ground snake secretive, nocturnal; semiannulata to 6000 ft. Hypsiglena desert nightsnake torquata deserticola

Crotalus Great Basin rattle SNAKE may den in large viridis numbers at high altitudes; lutosus viviparous TABLE

Genus and Common Name habitat characteristics Class Reptilia Phrynosoma southern desert horned lizard blunt snout; short spines platyrhinos calidarum CNEMIDOPHORUS Great Basin whiptail desert to pine forests tigris tigris above 5000 ft. Charina bottae Pacific rubber boa distribution spotty bottae Masticophis striped whipsnake grassland, pinyon-juniper; taeniatus diet:lizards, snakes, small mammals M. flagellum red racer desert to woodland to 6000 ft.; diet: mammals, birds, insects, carrion Coluber western yellow-bellied racer favors open meadows constrictor mormon

Pituophis Great Basin GOPHER SNAKE diet: snakes, lizards, melanoleucus frogs, mammals deserticola kills by constriction Lampopeltis California King snake diet: snakes, lizards, getulus frogs, mammals californiae Rhinocheilus Western long-nosed snake a burrower; diet: snakes, lecontei lizards, BIRDS lecontei TABLE 2

Genus and Common Species Name habitat/characteristics

Class Aves

Buteo RED-TAILED HAWK in summer to 12,000 ft. jamaicensis

Aquila GOLDEN EAGLE over hills and GRASSLANDS chryaetos

Circus MARSH HAWK casual visitant; over cyaneus MARSHES AND GRASSLANDS

Oreortyx MOUNTAIN QUAIL BELOW LODSEPOLE-FIR BELT; pieta - BRUSHY AREAS

OHARADRIUS KILLDEER CASUAL VISITANT VOCIFERUS

STEGNOPUS WILSON PHALAROPE BASE OF SIERRAS TO BISHOP; TRICOLOR IN MARSHES AND ON LAKES LARUS CALIFORNIA GULL ON MONO LAKE CALIFORNICUS

ZONAIDURA MOURNING DOVE SUMMER VISITOR MAC ROURA

7UBO GREAT HORNED OWL TO SUBALPINE ZONE; IN VIRI ÌIJU1US WOODS

SREOTYTO BURROW S OL flat or rolling GRASSLANDS CUNL.CULARIA

A S O OTUS LONG-EAR E D, OWL to lodge-pole-firaone; near streams . RHALAENOPTILUS POORWILL SAGEBRUSH ZONE NUTTALLI

CHORDELLES COMMON NIGHTHAWK SAGEBRUSH ZONE MINOR

1 CERYLE BELTED KIN F ISHER STREAS AND, LAKES • ALCYON

COLAPTES RED-SHAFTED FLICKER TO over 10,500 ft. CAFER TABLE

GENUS AND Common Name habitat/characteristics SPECIES

Class Ayes

SphyraPicus yellow-bellied LODGEPOLE-FIR ZONE; varius sapsucker mixed woodlands and forests Tyrannus western kingbird dry open places with verticalis perches for LOOKOUTS Myiarchus ash-throated over brush lands with cinerascens flycatcher • occasional trees Sayornis saya say phoebe summers in Great Basin Empidomx TRAILL FLYCATCHER dense willow thickets trailli

E. oberholseri DUSKY FLYCATCHER lodgepole-fir belt

E, wrighti gray flycatcher in SAGEBRUSH ZONE

Nuttallornis olive-sided TRANSIENT THRU AREA borealis flycatcher

Contopus wood pewee lodepole-fir belt; sordidulus OPEN FOREST, WOODLAND Tachycineta violet green swallow THALASSINA

IRIDOPROCNO tree swallow occasional summer visitor BICOLOR

HIRUNDO barn swallow near water RUSTICA

PETROCHELIDON cliff swallow common lower elevations pyrrlionota

Aphelocoma California Jay pinyon-juniper zone coerulescens

Pica pica black-billed magpie OPEN VALLEYS AND LARGE BUSHES Corvus crow rare at Mono Lake BRACHYRHYNC

GYMNORHINUS pinyon jay in pinyon, juniper, EYANOCELTHALA sact,ebrush

TABLE 2

Genus and COMMON NAME HABITAT/CHARACTERISTICS

CLASS AYES

SITTA white breasted nuthatch low on TRUNKS OF conifers carolinensis and deciduous trees - S. pygmaea pigEv nuthatch Jeffrey pine zone Certhia brown creeper high slopes;-late summer familiar is

Salpuictes rock. wren 11-0 to 10,500 feet obsoletus

HylociChla 5wainSon thrush willow thickets utulata

Sialia •mountain BLUEBIRD P-12,000 ft.; open currucoides grassland Lanius loggerhead shrihe open areas ludovicianus

VIREO warbling vireo in deciduous trees; GILVUS near streams

VERMIVORA ORANSE-CROWNED in shaded inner foliage CELATA warbler

Dendrioca yellow warbler lodRepole-fir zone Detechia

GeothylypiS yellow throat low dense . vegetation trlchas

Sturnella western meadowlark grasslands necrJecta

- Xanthoce phaThs yellow headed I n cattail OR TULE marshes xannocephalu e biac17,bird

Icterus BULLOCK ORIOLE IN COTTONWOODS bullocni

NOLOTHRUS BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD stroamside vegetation ATER AND PASTURES

FIRANGA western tanager rare; in open forest LUDOVICIANA TABLE 2

Genus and Species Common Name habitat/characteristics Class Ayes

PHENCTICUS black-headed grosbeak streamside trees and open MELANOCEPHALU forest

PANSERINA lazuli bunting near streams AMOENA

Hesperinhona evening grosbeak in lodgepole-fir belt vespertina Carpodacus house finch rare summer visitor mexicanus Spinus green-backed goldfinch openings BETWEEN psaltria scattered trees Loxia red crossbill in conifers curvirostra Chlorura GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE lodgepole-fir zone chlorura Pipilo rufous-sided towhee on ground, under brush erythrothalm u Pooecetes vesper sparrow open ground gramineus Chondestes lark sparrow summer visitor;granslands grammacus Amphispiza Bell sparrow around Mono Lake; be? ii sagebrush belt Spizella chipping sparrow to timberline; open passerina areas near small trees S. breweri Brewer sparrow sagebrush; in autumn around Mono Lake

Melospiza song sparrow in grass or shrubs melodia near water TABLE 2

Genus and • 1 • I 1. 111 HABITATICLUUM_01221111111511L _

Class Mammalia Order Rodentia Marmota YELLOW-BELLIED MARMOT TALUS SLOPES ABOVE 8000F1 flavirentris

CYTELLUS Belding or Oregon 75008500 FT. BELDINGI ground squirrel

CALLOSPERMOPHILUS Sierra Nevada golden-mantled PINE AND FIR FORESTS lateralis GROUND SQUIRREL TO 10,000 FT.

Eutamias minimus LEAST CHIPMUNK 7500-10,500 FT.

Tamiasciurus DOUGLAS SQUIRREL RARE IN MONO AREA; douglasii JEFFREY PINE ZONE

Glaucomys NORTHERN flying SQUIRREL TO 10,000 FT., RARE sabrinus on Mono area Thomomys NORTHERN POCKET GOPHER along streams and talpoides MEADOWS; TO ABOVE 7,00 FT.

Perognathus GREAT BASIN POCKET MOUSE slopes and FLATS OF PARVUS SAGEBRUSH, AND PINYON. JUNIPER ZONE

DIPODOMYS ORDII ORD KANGAROO RAT - OPEN SANDY AREAS, SAGEBRUSH ZONE

D. PANAMINTINUS PANAMINT KANGAROO RAT JOSHUA TREE, CREOSOTE BUSH PINYON-JUNIPER WOODLANDS

D. MICROPS GREAT BASIN KANGAROO -RAT SAGELYZUSH, PINYON- JUNIPER ZONE PROBABLY RARE IN LONE BASIN

REITHRODONTOMYS WESTERN HARVEST MOUSE TO ABOVE 10,000 MEGALOTJS

PEROMYSCUS BRUSH MOUSE ROCKY AREAS TO 7,500 FL BOYLII

P. TRUEI PINYON MOUSE PINYON-JUNIPER ZONE

P. maniculatus DEER MOUSE ALL COMMUNITIES AND LIFE ZONES TABLE 2

GENUS AND

SPECIES COMMON NAME HaBITY -, t.

CLASS YAMMALIA

ORDER RODENTIA

NEOTOMA BUSHY-TAILED WOOD RAT 7,500 TO 10,000 FT, CINEREA

LAGURUS SAGEBRUSH VOLE AROUND 8000 FT. CURTATUS

MICROTUS LONG-TAILED MEADOW MOUSE TO 10,000 FT., YELLOW LONGICAUDUS -pine, HEMLOCK FORESTS M. CALIFORNICUS CALIFORNIA MEADOW MOUSE to 7,500 ft.

M. MONTANUS MONTANE MEADOW MOUSE TUNNELS in WET MEADOWS IN YELLOW PINE, HEMLOCK FOREST

ZAPUS PINCEPS WESTERN Nmping mouse MEADOWS TO 10,000 FT.

ERETHIOZON PORCUPINE TO 10,000 FT, DORSATUM • Table 2

Genus and Species Common Name habitat/characteristics Class Mammalia Order Chiroptera . Myotis little brown bat to above 10,000 ft, lucifugus M. thysanodes fringed bat to 7,500 ft, M. californicus California bat at all but highest altitudes N. subulatus small footed bat arid uplands to above 7,500 ft. M. volans hairy wined bat open forests to above 7,500 ft, M. evotis long eared bat woods, to 10,000 ft. M. yumanensis Yuma bat open woods, sub-boreal zone Iasionycteris silver-haired bat around 8000 ft; roosts noctiragans in tree foliage Eptesicus big brown bat around 8000 ft,; fuscus hibernates for months Pipistrellus western pipistrelle deserts, to 7,500 ft, hesperus E'adarida Brazilian free-ticked bat to 7,500 ft. brasiliensis TABLE 2 •

GENUS AND S A.CIES COMMON NAME HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS

CLASS MAMMALIA Order Insectivora Sorex vagrans vagrant shrew FORESTED AREAS S. tenellus Inyo shrew sagebrush zone; rare S. merriami Merriam shrew sagebrush, pinyon-3unil)er, rare Seapanus broad handed mole latimanus TABLE 2

GENUS AND 8pacla, COMMON NAME HABITAT characteristics

CLASS MAMMALIA

ORDER LAGEMORPHA

OCHTONA PIKA ABOVE TIMBERLINE PRINCEPS

LEPUS BLACK-TAILED HARE TO ABOVE 7,500 FT, CALIFORNICUS

L. AMERICANUS SNOWSHOE HARE TO 10,000 FT.

L. TOWNSENDII white-tailed hare SASEBRUSH AND TO ABOVE 7,500 FT,

SYLIVILASUS nuttall cottontail PINYON-JUNIPER; NUTTALLII SASEBRUSH ZONES

S. IDAHOENSIS SAGEBRUSH SCRUB COMMUNITY TABLE •

Genus and Species Common Name habitat/characteristics Order Carnivora Sub-Order FissipediL Vulpes fulva red fox black and red phases; high Sierra only Urocyon gray fox sagebrush belt., below cinoreoargenteu yellow pine Canis latrans coyote all communities and life zones Procyon lotor racoon between desert and 10,000 ft. Martes marten 7,500-10,000 ft. americana M. pennanti fisher - primarily 8,500-10,000 ft. Mustela frenata LONG-TAILED weasel to 10,000 ft. Taxidea taxus badger to 10,000 ft, Mephitis striped skunk TO ABOVE 8,500 FT. mephitis Spilogale spotted skunk to. 8,500 ft. putorius Fells ooncolor mountain lion 7,500-8,500 ft, Lynx rufus BOBCAT in most communities and life zones

Order Artiodactyla

Odocolleus mule deer to above 10,000 in hemionus summer, below 8500 in winter 13 structure in the area, is a product of Pleistocene time, and has led to the physical intergradation of the two dominant biomes. Tables 2 lists a few of

the more common VERTEBRATE SPECIES TO BE FOUND IN

THE MONO BASIN AREA,(INGLES, 1965; STORER AND USINGER, 1966),

EVIDENCE FOR THETTLUVIAL LAKE FLUCTUATION

LAKE SEDIMENTS

IN 1889 RUSSELL DESCRIBED THE SURFACE OF PAOHA Island as being covered with 200-300 feet of white

LACUSTRINE SEDIMENTS. THESE BEDS HAD BEEN HIGHLY

ERODED BY WIND AND WATER ABOVE lake level, and exhibit- ed a large wave cut terrace 12 feet below the lake level at that time. We know from this evidence that pluvial waters of one or more stages COVERED the whole of Paoha Island, and that the lake level HAS FLUCTUATED INTERMITTENTLY SINCE the initial EXPOSURE OF THESE EARLIER SEDIMENTS, Negit Island, on the contrary, lacks a lacustrine veneer or TERR- aces indicating that it was extruded since Tahoe glaciation, The best exposure of a lacustrine cross section is where Rush Creek has cut through ITS PLUVIAL DELTA 160 feet to its canyon floor.

THE COMPOSITION OF THESE SEDIMENTS IS. 60 GRAY SILT

FROM GRANITIC ROCKS OF THE SIERRA, WHILE THE RE-

MAINDER IS IRON-STAINED SAND AND DARK GRAY OR BROWN

(hornfels) gravel (Putnam, 1949, p. 1295). Russell

(2889, P. 306-7) THOUGHT THAT THE MNY GRAVEL BEDS 14

do not indicate a period of dessication, but rather a time when the 'stream mouth was nearer the point of deposition, or, as Antevs (1925, p. 99) implies, a Change in lake level reflected by changes in position of the stream mouth. No matter what the precise cause, this

EXPOSED HORIZONTAL BEDDING, and its DELTA SHAPE ARE suggestive of either tectonic tilting, or SURFACE fluctuation, or both. Russell's evidence for recent tilting of the basin will be discussed with the summary of Pleistocene events. Shorelines and deltas

RUSSELL IN HIS 1889 monograph recognized that

PROMINENT SHORELINES OCCURRED ALONG THE WEST SHORE OF Mono Lake, specifically at Rush Creek., Bloody Canyon,

Leevining Creek and LUNDY CREEK.. SOME TERRACES AT THE two creeks had associate& molt-water terraces. From these he described two main high-water periods, which he said correlated with the pair of major pluvial shorelines at Lake Bonneville. Putnam (1949), using Blackwelder's 1931 terminology,

IDENTIFIED AN INDISTINCT TERRACE BETWEEN 7170-7180 FEET

ELEVATION WHICH HE BELIEVED REPRESENTED THE MAXIMUM 'rise of Lake Russell at the height of Tahoe glaciation. Such benches were located in five specific localities: a.) north of Loevining as a ill-defined shoulder on the mountain front b,) south of Leevining as a wave-cut bench on a Teboe lateral moraine c,) on the Parker 15

Creek lateral moraine d,) es a broad gravel bench on the north Tahoe lateral moraine at Rush Creek and e.) at the Aeolian Buttes in Pumice Valley, as a bench cut in the Bishop tuff (see Figure 3), Ho also generally defined a more distinct but lower bench at a 7070 foot elevation, which he correlated with the Tioga glaciation. This water level reached the outside flanks of the more extensive Tahoe moraines, but only contacted the terminal moraines of its own period at Rush and Leevining Creeks. Erosion force, or the period of advancement was not great enough to cut benches in the Tioga terminals, However the swollen Tioga streams left deltas which merged with the slopes

OF THESE TERMINAL MORAINES, WITHIN THE EMBAYMENTS formed by the arms of the longer Tahoe laterals.

THOUGH ABOUT 30 RECESSIONAL BENCHES BELOW the

Tioga maximum were recognized in 1949, the DETAIL OF

THESE CUTS WAS NOT DESCRIBED UNTIL PUTNAM'S 1950 PAPER. There he recognizes three distinct periods of fluctuation, each with its own sub-fluctuations. The older of these

GROUPS OCCUR BETWEEN 7070-6875 FEET AS CLOSE-SPACED narrow benches in Sierra bedrock. The middle group are much broader terraces separated by low rises, indicating a period of longer periods of lake stability. These lie between 6830-6750 feet on delta surfaces, The lowest and youngest group is a series of close - treaded benches of intermediate width between 6730 Figure 6

Tioga Moraines and Shorelines, Leevining Creek (after Putnam, 1950)

-74.oe

..4"s•-•...... „&lOctaTere2rA:■Aecl Oica-airICS

INacassion-al Mora;neS 170‘2_±.221!..±11.1. _111gnidloSts ee

- - Toga derekna- Le42vir“og- Canle,r1 Tnol-aiftes To sae,

••••

SA rrekles 6aoo

6.f>ao tEr tek

Monfo 6400

ver-lrica‘ scale , ze.. 4floo Soo. .colet tole 4kse 16 feet and lake LEVEL AT 6415 feet (Putnam, 1950). See Figure 6 for diagramatic cross-section of THE 38 SHORELINES at Leevining Creek. Correlation of terraces and terminal moraines of the Tioga are established for the older and middle

GROUP ( PUTNAM, 1950, P. 120). THE OLDER TERRACES (7070-6920 feet) correlate with terminal moraines in the Leevining, Grant Lake and June Lake areas. The wide benches between 6830-6750 feet on delta surfaces correlate with later inner morainal groups in each canyon. Overflow Whitney (1865) and Russell (1883) both, erroneously depicted• Mono Lake as a pluvial tributary to the

LAHONTAN SYSTEM TO THE north, In the 1889 monograph

Russell modifies his former stand BY SUGGESTING THERE may have been a pre-pluvial discharge of Mono Lake to

THE NORTHWEST, through the Aurora Valley (Nevada) into

A TRIBUTARY OF THE EAST Walker River of the LAHONTAN

DRAINAGE, INDEED, THE PRESENCE OF THE MINNOW Si ateles

IN THE DEATH VALLEY SYSTEM (HUBBS AND MILLER, 1948)

AND THE LAHONTAN AND OTHER SYSTEMS NORTH OF MONO LAKE

( SNYDER, 1908, D. 86'97; 1917, p. 60-67), while it is

ENTIRELY UNKNOWN IN FOSSIL OR RECENT FORM IN THE

COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM, SPEAKS STRONGLY FOR A CONNECTION

some time in THE PAST BETWEEN LAKE LAHONTAN AND THE

MONO BASIN. HOWEVER, THIS CONNECTION WOULD HAVE BEEN

Figure 7

Itct °

' k S SE. o \\ I s - 313* Lake Russell to Lake Manly Pluvial Lake System (after Morrison, 1965, p. 278)

't 50 75- 1 100 ki /arr. e.ler-6 9' t

V4le

% I \ \Lake %\ S. ,.. „..%. -- ov421,‘ •CE- t i "I 1> e / N, 1( k , - /A• '.5 % S. t \M;rily *-% % % ' 5. / Let \ ..,‘ ILAKE I

\ •

LeAKRLEGL .65 a -- 17 r t`, 1 PIDHAVE 1, I e_

/ sse 1 1-1 ar- et"

5. ivc T.ESGAt--

•••• "'" s

Sm , 17 BLOCKED BY LAVA FLOWS, PROBABLY IN PRE-PLUVIAL TIME,

THUS EFFECTIVELY ISOLATING THE SYSTEMS NORTH OF AURORA

VALLEY DURING THE PLUVIAL TIMES, RUSSELL (1889) ,

SPECIFICALLY DISCOUNTS ANY OVERFLOW INTO THE AURORA

VALLEY DRING THE PLUVIAL BY CALCULATING THE HIGHEST

SHORELINE TO BE 100 FEET BELOW THE LEVEL OF THE DIVIDE

BETWEEN LAKE AND THE AURORA VALLEY. Due to his measurements of maximum lake height,

RUSSELL ALSO AVOIDS SPECIFIC MENTION OF POSSIBLE

OVERFLOW AT OTHER LOW DIVIDES. HOWEVER, PUTNAM IN A 1947

COMMUNICATION TO HUBBS . AND MILLER, AND LATER IN PRINT

(1949) saw "clear EVIDENCE" (HUBBS AND MILLER, 1948,

P. 79) OF AN OVERFLOW THROUGH THE DIVIDE TO THE NORTH

OF COWTRACK MOUNTAIN THROUGH ADOBE MEADOWS INTO THE

ADOBE VALLEY, HE DISAGREES WITH RUSSELL'S MAXIMUM

SHORELINE MEASUREMENT, FEELING THAT THE CHANNEL OUT

AT 7150 FEET RESULTED FROM THE MAXIMUM TAHOE WATER

LEVEL. IF SO, LAKE RUSSELL WAS THE HEAD WATERS FOR

A CHAIN OF INTERCONNECTING PLUVIAL LAKES ALL THE WAY

TO LAKE MANLY IN DEATH VALLEY (SEE FIGURE 7), AS THE

COMMON COINCIDENCE OF SITHATELES THROUGH THE OWENS

VALLEY ALSO SUGGESTS.

TUFA TOWERS

MASSES OF PRECIPITATED CALCIUM CARBONATE BORDERING

THE SOUTH SHORE AND PROTRUDING FROM THE SURFACE OF

MONO LAKE, ALTHOUGH POSSIBLY REFLECTING RECENT TECTONIC

DISTURBANCE BY THE PRESENCE OF WARM FRESH WATER SPRING 18 in their midst, also r*epresent recent biochemical deposition by algal cells around formerly submerged

LAKE SPRINGS. THEY serve as reminder that lake fluctuation

CONTINUES IN THE PRESENT AS WELL AS THE PAST. HOWEVER, since the city of Los Angeles started tapping the tributaries of Mono Lake its level has gradually dropped. Von Huone (oral communication) and others have

ESTIMATED THAT WITHIN 14 YEARS MONO LAKE WILL be gone —

AN ARTIFICIAL PLAYA AS A MOMENT() TO "PROGRESS".

PLEISTOCENE HISTORY OF MONO BASIN At the beginning of Pleistocene the Whole Basin AND RANGE Province was much closer to sea level, and the

SIERRA NEVADA RANGE CONSIDERABLY lower (Axelrod, 1950, 1962; Van Houten, 1956) although the original develop- mental faulting had originated in Oligocene time. This activity has continued to the present time, with two apparent climaxes of activity, one in early Pleistocene and the other in early, middle Pleistocene. The first is believed to have caused the major uplift of the Sierras and Wasatch Mountains (Axelrod, 1963; Birkeland, 1963), and predated all known glaciations. The second climax was limited to the western slope of the Wasatch Range and the eastern flank of the Sierras. However, erosion and deposition is more rapid than altitudinal increase through upheaval, so that all basins of the area are currently filling with alluvium washed from adjacent peaks. 19

RUSSELL EARLY RECOGNIZED (1889) THAT THE DOMINANT Mono and lnyo Craters were products of Recent activity, at least post-Tahoe, since Panum Crater extends below

THE HIGHEST STRAND LINE BUT SHOWS NO WAVE MARKS OR lacustrine deposits, He concluded that there are AT

LEAST 10-15. CRATERS THAT HAVE FORMED in or AROUND THE lake since its last expansion. Evidence of continuing tectonic activity consists

OF A.) FRESH FAULT SCARPS B.) the high temperature springs c.) disturbance of lake clays and d.) tilting of shorelines,

TO LARGE FRESH FAULT SCARPS EXIST, ONE AT AN

ANCIENT BEACH SHORE 680 FEET ABOVE THE LAKE, THE OTHER

A 50 FOOT scarp across the Tahoe moraine and delta AT

LUNDY CANYON. MOST OF THE HIGH TEMPERATURE springs are associated with tufa TOWERS, THOUGH SOME APPEAR

ON FACHA ISLAND. THE cause of disturbances in lake clays was originally ATTRIBUTED BY LA CONTE (1879) to crumpling and rolling by advancing ice fronts

OR ICEBERGS. However, since the glaciers never

REACHED MANY AREAS where folding of sediments occurred, Putnam (1949) suggests THAT THESE changes are caused by slippage along bedding planes,

POSSIBLY INITIATED BY TECTONIC ACTIVITY.

RUSSELL (1889) DESCRIBES IN SOME DETAIL HOW THS exposed Pluvial shorelines are no longer parallel and that the beaches are lower on the west end of the lake

THAN THE EAST END, HE also reasons THAT ONE WOULD 20

expect sediments from the mountains on the the east to continually force the existing shoreline away from the Sierras and not allow for the present continuation of the existing shoreline atthe base of Mt, Warren. This continuation is possibly explained by the tilting - of the whole lake basin, however, if the disagreement

BETWEEN RUSSELL (1889) AND FUTNAM.(1949) OVER MAXIMUM

lake level and the possibility of TAHOE OVERFLOW IS one of mismeasurement, then perhaps the earlier data is misleading and the related shoreline deductions in error. Personal communication (1967) with Kenneth Lajoie indicates that his present attempts at measurement of shoreline tilting have been frustrated by inability to confidently correlate

shorelines over long distances, so that the TRUE

ASSESSMENT OF MAXIMUM LAKE LEVEL and tilting of shore lines must be left for future interpretation, Causes of pluvial lake fluctuations Some geologists maintian that the rises in Pluvial lakes were caused mainly by increase of meltwater run-off from glaciers in the surrounding mountains. Though this may well be the case in other parts of the world, it is generally recomlized that in the Great Basin few basins were flanked by

GLACIER CLAD ELEVATIONS, Even in those basins which were adjacent to ice fields, as around Lake Russell, it is doubtful if runoff contributed more than a 21

small fraction OF THE NECESSARY WATER TO FLOOD THE

BASIN AND THEN MAINTAIN EQUILIBRIUM. FOR INSTANCE,

DURING THE TAHOE MAXIMUM THE LAKE LAHONTAN DRAINAGE

WAS ESTIMATED TO CONTAIN 70 MILE .( 292 EM 3 ) OF ICE, 3 EQUIVALENT TO 64 MILES 3 (2(7 ,f1 )'OF WATER. AT THE

SAME TIME LAKE LAHONTAN CONTAI D UP TO 300 MILES 3 3 a (1,251 Ym ) of waterlso thatADECREASED TEMPERATURE, which would lessen ice melt run-off, would through

NECESSITY CAUSE PRECIPITATION, AND EVAPORATION'

TO BECOME IMPORTANT FACTORS IN PLUVIAL LAKE maintainenance,

VARIOUS ESTIMATES OF THE PRECISE CLIMATIC

CHANGES NECESSARY HAVE BEEN MADE initially by Russell (1885, 1886, p. 132) and Jones (1925).

THEY THOUGHT THAT IF THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WERE TO

REMAIN THE SAME AS TODAY IT WOULD TAKE A RAINFALL

INCREASE OF 20 INCHES PER YEAR TO I- TORE LAKE

LAHONTAN TO ITS MAXIMUM. ANTEVS (1952, P. 101)

SUGGESTS DURIN3 THE SECOND LAHONTAN MAXIMUM, WHICH

BROUGHT THE LAKE LEVEL TO WITHIN 10 FEET OF ITS

GREATEST HEIGHT, THAT THE MEAN TEMPERATURE HAD BEEN

DEPRESSED 4,9-CS.4 °F (2.5-3.0 46) ARL. THE PRECIPITATION

HAD INCREASED ABOUT 29 INCHES I, SR YEAR. DROEL:ER AND

ORR (195, p. 1030) suc:s:=;st an inch increase in

RAINFALL COUPLED WITH A 9 °1I' DROP IN TEMPERATURE. Most recently Snyder and Langbein (1962) suggest

THAT A DECRESE OF EVAPORATION FROM 44-31 INCHES, 22 along with modern temperatures, would have maintained the Pluvial lake in Spring Valley, Nevada. Though more intimately associated with the climatic idiosyncracies of the Sierra barrier and the

PACIFIC COAST, IT IS SUGGESTED here THAT climatic changes of the same type and magnitude were responsible FOR THE LOCAL FLUCTUATIONS within Mono Basin. Global influences on continental climates

TAKES PLACE IN THE FORM OF the world-wide atmospheric circulation patterns. The present system consists

of three CONVECTION CELLS IN each hemisphere. Warm air, developed at the EQUATOR, rises and moves pole-ward to descend at the 30th parallel along with another descending air mass which has risen at 60° of latitude. The replacement air mass, for that 44 which has risen at the 6o parallel, is the descending Polar Easterlies, which thus form a belt of

EASTWARD MOVING cyclonic storms causing increased precipitation along the so-called polar front.

During the PLUVIAL periods, higher pressures developed over the continental ice caps forcing the polar 6 front southward THROUGH 15 of latitude so that it was situated along the 45th parallel (Bryan and Cady, 1934, fig. 4, p. 244).. The increased cloudiness accompanied by increased precipitation and decreased temperature and evaporation at these 23 latitudes caused the formation of pluvial lakes throughout the closed basins of the Basin and Range

Province, and the COINCIDENTAL expansion of local glaciers (Jamieson and Lartet, in Flint, 1957, p. 222). Later, when the polar front shifted northward, along with decrease of the pressure gradients, the

increase of temperature and decrease of PRECIPITATION returned the area to its semi-arid and arid climate. Galloway (1965), to the contrary, has suggested that a 20% reduction in evaporation and therefore precipitation occured . during the last glacial period, meaning that the pluvial period actually occured during the- post-pluvial temperature optimum. Dating and correlation In recent years a number of absolute dates have been determained which help substanciate the chronology of some of the Pleistocene events in the Mono Basin. Dalrymple in 1963 dated a basalt beneith McGee Till at 2.6 m.y. The Sherwin Till is overlain)py Bishop Tuff dated at 700,000 y. (Dalrymple, Cox, Doe?, 1965) so that it is of older age than the tuff. A questionable till on MAMMOUTH MOUNTAIN WAS DATED younger than 370,000 y. by Janda (1965) possibly correlating with the Donner Lake Till of the Lake Tahoe area. From the Wisconsin Age, TAHOE TILL IN SAWMILL Canyon overides a basalt dated 60,000-90,000 y. by 24

Dalrymple (1964b). The other prominent glaciation of the southern Sierra Nevada, the Tioga, is identified with a 98001:800 BP date (unpublished) from the Echo Pass vacinity north of Mono Basin. Some of the activity of the Mono Craters rhyolite domes seems to have occured within Recent time, as indicated by Dalrymple's 1967 E/A date of 6000-10,000 years. (See Table 3) Except for these few dates, the recreation of Pleistocene and Recent conditions in the MonoBasin has depended on the correlation of glacial tills through weathering, their location and angle of exit from valleys, and the development and relationship of various shorelines, as explained elsewhere in this paper. In the near future a difinitive evaluation

of parts of the basin's history will be . offered by G-nertiaris4eA5cA 14 Al-Rawi,w4 Lajoie OV"i"). This work and pending C dates of organic lake sediments below Mono or Inyo Craters wOl ash layers in Adobe Valley, E74/ add other useful threads to the pattern of Quaternary events, Table 3 Summary of Mono Laho area dates

Mono Craters rhyolite 6000-10,000 y.

'RECENT ___ ... (Dalrymple, 1967)

14 m Tioga Till 9,800t800 D.P. C (communication, H in Bateman and Wahraftig, 1966) o r4 0 0 o H (Tenaya Till) .=. Tahoe Till overides basalt at Sawmill Canyon 60,000-90,000 y. (Dalrymple, 1964b)

(Mono Basin Till)

PLEISTOCENE OCD 4-41-I CO 0 'a Mammouth Mountain till (?) K370,000 r-4 (Janda, 1965)

.1.40 HU 0,1) ' r-Pli Ori EIVD L'L OT) Sherwin Till overlain by Dishop Tuff 0c).6. 700,000 y. (D'ilrympl, 0ox. and Doell, 1965)

McGee Till rests on 2.6m.y. basalt (Dalrymple, 1963 25

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