Eastern CA and Death Valley

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Thursday, 31 October 2024 - Early morning visit to Mobius Arch in Alabama Hills for sunrise and star photography despite smoky skies, explored nearby Lathe Arch, enjoyed views of Mount Whitney and Lone Pine Peak, and in the afternoon visited Mono Lake to see the limestone tufa towers formed over centuries.

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Today we were headed back into the Alabama Hills to Mobius Arch for sunrise. We were early allowing us to capture the stars along with the lake.

The stars are fuzzy due to the lingering smoke from the forest fire.

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Lathe Arch is right next to Mobius Arch. The sun was just about to break the horizon while I shot this picture. If you look close, you can see the stars.
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Mobius Arch with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background.
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Alabama Hills has been used in a number of movies - easy to see why. The area is very photogenic with the round boulders and the sharp high mountain peaks.
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Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. Beautiful in the early morning light.
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First light on Lone Pine Peak.
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A black and white of a sage bush which did not make it.
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In the late afternoon we headed out to Mono Lake, which is a salt lake with no outlet. Many columns of limestone rise above the surface of Mono Lake. These limestone towers consist primarily of calcium carbonate minerals such as calcite. This type of limestone rock is referred to as tufa, which is a term used for limestone that forms in low to moderate temperatures.
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The towers, tufa, were formed when springs in the lake bottom hit the alkaline water and calcium formed around the opening. It took centuries for the large towers to form.
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