CALIFORNIA

Mono Lake is an ancient lake, one of the oldest lakes if not the oldest, in North America. A visit in Mono Lake feels like being being transported to the location filming of Science fiction movies. It is like reaching another planet. The experience is really like out of this world, especially entering the lake at dusk, like what we did.

Walking along the shores of Mono Lake is like being in a cave, but instead of the stalactites and stalagmites hanging from the ceiling of the caves, at Mono Lake, the tufas are marvelously sculpted towers standing above the water like those eerie guards on an Alien Kingdom.

These unusual rock towers that guards the kingdom of Mono Lake are called tufa. The tufa towers are calcium carbonates (or limestone ) rocks that grow exclusively under water. The calcium carbonate precipitates and over decades or centuries, the tufa tower will grow. Above the water, the tufa can no longer grow and are already susceptible to erosion. Other Great Basin Desert Lakes also have tufa, but Mono Lake has the most active formation.

The water at Mono Lake is so salty because water flows into the lake from the surrounding mountains, but there is no drainage for the water that came in. The only way for water to leave Mono Lake is through evaporation. Within Mono Lake’s water are dissolved salts of chlorides, carbonates and sulfates.

Temperature, wind, climatic variations, underwater springs, and even biological activity can affect Mono Lake’s chemistry at different depths, locations and seasons. Mono Lake has such a unique chemical signature provoking scientific studies.

The lake is also rich in borate and potassium. Mono Lake, Great Salt Lake in Utah and Lake Albert in Oregon are the last few large hyper-saline lakes in the Great Basin that host productive ecosystems and large numbers of migrating birds. Swarms of black alkali flies carpet the shoreline of Mono Lake during summer. However, these alkali flies are not interested of humans, and even not of aliens. These macroscopic flies are only interested with the microscopic algae. These alkali flies attract birds, for the birds, these are foods a lot tastier and richer in protein than brine shrimp. Because of the richness of the alkali flies in the lake, the lake attracts a lot of migratory birds making the lake the busiest airport for birds. On October, these birds have there biggest convention, and this convention is one of the biggest in North America, only that the guests are birds. Aerial surveys have revealed 1.5-1.8 million birds on the lake in the fall—comprising a large portion of North America’s population!

Fore more information on Mono Lake’s Natural History, please visit:   http://www.monolake.org/naturalhistory/index.html 

Traveling tip: Mono Lake is located in the Eastern Sierra, it is only 22 miles southeast from Yosemite National Park’s Tioga Pass entrance. It is also close enough to Mammoth Lakes Mountain and Ski Resort. Coming from Southern California on your way to Yosemite National Park via Tioga Pass entrance or on your way to Lake Tahoe, Mono Lake would be a good short detour. Definitely, if you are in the area, and are interested with a visit that feels like in another world, do make a side trip at Mono Lake.

For more information on hiking trails and for driving directions, please visit:  http://www.yosemitehikes.com/not-yosemite/mono-lake/mono-lake.htm