Spot 1: Aeolian buttes. One last pumice and lithic count on the lower, densely welded part of Ig2NWb. Crystal-rich pumice and basaltic lithics abound! As we moved up section towards the eroded bedrock highs made up of Cretaceous granite, the ignimbrite becomes poorly welded and contains sparse dacitic juvenile clasts and swirly pumices.
Stop 2: Panum Crater is a young tuff ring with an extensive crater-filling lava dome of made of obsidian and bread-crusted devitrified rhyolite. Incredible views of Mono Lake!
LUNCH BREAK: Time to learn the secret wonders of the Jeffery Pine…
Stop 3: Water sampling at Mono Lake – here at the south tufa preserve. What, not looking at rocks? No pumice count? Liz and Adam collect alkaline water for analysis of oxygen isotopes, pH, conductivity, and alkalinity.
