Mono Lake Sunset Mono Lake

Nestled in the high desert plateau of the eastern Sierra Nevada in California is Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve covering over 65 square miles. A shallow lake of only 157 feet at its deepest, the Lake average is at around 52 feet and has no natural outlet to the ocean. The high alkaline content does not create a natural habitat for fish and even despite efforts by the California Department of Fish and Game, no fish exist in the Lake. The reason: the lake has a pH level of 10, three times saltier than the Pacific Ocean. The Lake is considered to be a "triple-water" lake due to its content of chlorides, carbonates and sulfides, a deadly combination to most water life with the exception of algae, alkali flies and brine shrimp. Birds feast on the flies and brine shrimp. The shrimp population has made a comeback but at one time the shrimp were so abundant the Lake was considered one of the most unique reproductive ecosystems in the world. Even now migratory birds by the millions, literally three million a year, stop, rest and nest during their long journeys. The Lake harbors over 80 species of birds in any given year. 

In 1941, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began a systematic lowering of the lake level by diverting the four major tributary streams that feed Mono Lake. In just 15 short years the Lake's water level fell by 25 feet. By 1975 it was down 40 feet. The Lake changed from a prime example of a highly effective ecosystem to a dying, lifeless chemical sump. But by 1978, the outrage over the fate of the Lake drew much attention and after years of legal battles, drainage had been drastically reduced and water levels stabiized. Water levels are slowly returning to pre-1960 levels, but still a long road to full levels.

The lowering of the Lake exposed hundreds of tufas which are shown in this photo looking across the Lake at sunset. These calcium-carbonate spires of limestone are the result of bottom freshwater springs interacting with the alkaline content of the Lake. Some are as high as 30 feet. The overall effect of these tufas creates an eerie landscape of limestone towers across a lake of still water.

Mono Lake was the backdrop for the inside cover jacket to Pink Floyd's 1975 released album "Wishing You Were Here".

Clint Eastwood's 1973 movie "High Plains Drifter" used Mono Lake as the shoreline for the fictitious town of Lago.