2010 Great Adventure: 7/12/10 June Lake

The drive up to June Lake from 395 on June Lake Road.

The June Lake Loop is situated against the west rim of the Great Basin and Range Province, abutting the steep eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada. Rush Creek originates from an alpine watershed just north of the headwaters of the San Joaquin River, and south of the Tuolumne River, then flows northeast, becoming the major tributary to the great inland sea, Mono Lake.
June Lake's looped valley, often described as a horseshoe-shaped canyon, was formed by glacial action. The Rush Creek glacier split in two when it encountered the resistant rock of what is now known as Reversed Peak. The main glacier flowed toward the north creating the Rush Creek Canyon. Another glacial branch turned south and east but its flow was impeded and eventually stopped as the granitic bedrock on this southern branch created an uphill path toward the volcanic area of the Mono Craters. When the glacier receded it left behind terminal moraine material in the area now known as Oh! Ridge.
The basin which had been carved out just west of the ridge is filled with spring water, creating June Lake and nearby Gull Lake. The overflow from these spring-fed lakes flows back toward the mountain range and thus is named Reversed Creek. Reversed Creek reaches a confluence with Rush Creek and flows through Silver Lake and Grant Lake, completing the "loop" to the Mono Basin.