Mono Lake Reserve & Bodie Historic California State Parks - 3" Patch

Description

This is for a 3.25" x 2" PATCH that reads:
MONO LAKE TUFA STATE NATURAL RESERVE - BODIE STATE HISTORIC PARK - CSPRA - 2018
This patch was produced for the California State Park Rangers Association (CSPRA) annual rendezvous at Mono Lake & Bodie in 2018.
The Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve was established to preserve the spectacular "tufa towers," calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. It also protects the lake surface itself as well as the wetlands and other sensitive habitat for the 1 – 2 million birds that feed and rest at Mono Lake each year.
Mono Lake is a majestic body of water covering about 65 square miles. It is an ancient lake, over 1 million years old -- one of the oldest lakes in North America. It has no outlet.
Throughout its long existence, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams. Freshwater evaporating from the lake each year has left the salts and minerals behind so that the lake is now about 2 1/2 times as salty as the ocean and very alkaline.
Bodie State Historic Park is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town. Visitors can walk down the deserted streets of a town that once had a population of nearly 10,000 people. The town is named for Waterman S. Body (William Bodey), who had discovered small amounts of gold in hills north of Mono Lake. In 1875, a mine cave-in revealed pay dirt, which led to purchase of the mine by the Standard Company in 1877. People flocked to Bodie and transformed it from a town of a few dozen to a boomtown.
Only a small part of the town survives, preserved in a state of "arrested decay." Interiors remain as they were left and stocked with goods. Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state of "arrested decay". Today this once thriving mining camp is visited by tourists, howling winds and an occasional ghost.
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California State Parks Mission. To provide for the health, inspiration and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state's extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation.
California Department of Parks and Recreation manages 280 park units, which contain the finest and most diverse collection of natural, cultural, and recreational resources to be found within California. These treasures are as diverse as California: From the last stands of primeval redwood forests to vast expanses of fragile desert; from the lofty Sierra Nevada to the broad sandy beaches of our southern coast; and from the opulence of Hearst Castle to the vestiges of colonial Russia.
California State Parks contains the largest and most diverse natural and cultural heritage holdings of any state agency in the nation. The State Park System includes State Parks, State Natural Reserves, State Historic Parks, State Historic Monuments, State beaches, State Recreation Areas, State Vehicular Recreation Areas, State Seashores and State Marine Parks. Within the -1864system are Natural and Cultural Preserves, lakes and reservoirs, coastal beaches, historic homes, Spanish era adobe buildings, lighthouses, ghost towns, museums, visitor centers, conference centers, and off-highway vehicle recreation areas.  Together, State Park System lands protect and preserve an unparalleled collection of culturally and environmentally sensitive structures and habitats, threatened plant and animal species, ancient Native American sites, historic structures and artifacts... the best of California's natural and cultural history.
With over 340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage, 15,000 campsites and 4,500 miles of trails, the State Park System provides wonderful recreational, educational, and inspirational opportunities for over 67 million visitors a year.
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