Yet another picture of Mt. Starr King from near Illilouette Creek

Yet another picture of Mt. Starr King from the big sandy "meadow" just before reaching Illilouette Creek on the Mono Meadows trail. There's another big sandy "meadow" on the other side of the creek. Why do you suppose are these meadows so sandy, and no grass has taken hold? Are they still damaged from shepherding in the 1800s? Does a prevailing wind deposit a lot of sand here preventing undergrowth from taking hold? It's a mystery to me.