Mono Basin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mono Basin |
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Mono Basin from near Conway Summit.
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| Floor elevation | 6,380 feet (1,940 m) |
| Area | 631 to 801 square miles (1,630 to 2,070 km2) |
| Depth | 6,680 feet (2,040 m) |
| Geography | |
| Location | Mono County, California, United States |
| Borders on | W: Sierra Crest N: Bodie Hills E: Cowtrack Mountains S: Long Valley Caldera |
The Mono Basin is a special area in California and Nevada. It's like a big bowl where water flows in but doesn't flow out to the ocean. This kind of place is called an endorheic basin. It's located just east of the famous Yosemite National Park.
The basin has natural borders. To the west, you'll find the tall Sierra Nevada mountains. The Cowtrack Mountains are to the east, and the Bodie Hills are to the north. To the south, it's bordered by the northern part of the Long Valley Caldera.
The Mono Basin is quite large, covering about 634 to 801 square miles. Its elevation changes a lot, from around 6,380 feet at Mono Lake to a towering 13,061 feet at Mount Dana.
Some of the most interesting spots in the basin include the unique Mono Lake, the Mono-Inyo Craters (which are volcanic areas), and the small town of Lee Vining.
How the Mono Basin Was Formed
The Mono Basin is a type of structural basin, which means it's a valley formed by movements in the Earth's crust. It sits along the Walker Lane, an area where the huge North American Plate and Pacific Plate are slowly grinding past each other.
This basin was created over the last five million years. It formed because the Earth's crust in the Basin and Range province was being stretched apart. This stretching caused volcanism (volcanic activity) and faulting (cracks in the Earth's crust) at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Five million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was just a set of rolling hills, and the Mono Basin didn't even exist yet.
Volcanic Activity in the Basin
From 4.5 to 2.6 million years ago, a lot of basalt rock erupted around what is now Cowtrack Mountain. This volcanic rock eventually covered about 300 square miles and was up to 600 feet thick.
Later, more volcanic activity happened between 3.8 million and 250,000 years ago. This occurred northwest of the Mono Basin. It led to the creation of places like Aurora Crater, Beauty Peak, Cedar Hill (which was once an island in Mono Lake), and Mount Hicks.
The area is still volcanically active today. For example, Paoha Island in Mono Lake was formed by volcanic activity about 350 years ago.
