After California’s Crowley Lake reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County was completed in 1941, strange column-like formations were spotted along the reservoir's eastern shore. These stone columns rose up to 20 feet tall, were ringed at intervals of one feet and were connected by high arches like an ancient Moorish temple. For millions of years these pillars were completely covered by soft rock and hidden from view, and would have remained so, if not for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Once the reservoir was created, the incessant pummeling of the lake's powerful waves eroded the more malleable rock at the base of the cliffs encasing these pillars, exposing them to the world. Even then, the columns were regarded as little more than curiosities until very recently in 2015, when geologists at the University of California, Berkeley, decided to conduct serious studies.

Photo credit: www.sierraadventurecenter.com