Mono Lake Facts
- The deceptively simple term of Mono Lake represents the name of a particularly impressive, and utterly distinctive, body of water. Despite the comparative harshness of the immediately surrounding environment, the amazing site contains a unique form of beauty all its own.
- The asstounding geological formation also has a highly unique history, extending far back into the distant past. In more modern times, ancient Native Americans, especially of the Kutsadika’a tribe of the Paiute Nation, knew of and lived around the truly remarkable site.
- Much later, European explorers later discovered it while venturing into the area in the 1880’s. At that time, the duo of Edward S. Dana and Israel C. Russell provided the first recorded description of the lake. They also remarked on some of its extremely unique formations.
- Beginning in the year 1913, however, the city of Los Angeles began the process of diverting water from the previously pristine lake. This action had the unfortunate, but not surprising, effect of threatening the extremely fragile and unique alkaline ecosystem existing there.
- Later, though, in 1994, a wonderful win for the environment and those who support its preservation occurred. At that time, a newly strengthened conservation movement succeeded in halting any further diversion of the remarkable waters of Mono Lake for human uses.
- Since that time, water levels have begun, and continue to, slowly climb back toward historic levels. They’ve not yet reached those heights, though. As a result, exposed shorelines continue to be a source of alkaline dust that can be carried aloft by strong winds in the region.
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Mono Lake Physical Description
The eerily beautiful Mono Lake never fails to capture the instantaneous attention of anyone fortunate enough to visits the site. That holds true due to a combination of incredible factors, though. Certainly it boasts a respectable size, but it’s visual distinctiveness entirely sets it apart.
This otherworldy natural feature actually represents a small part of a much larger basin possessing no outlet to the ocean. This basin originally formed via the actions of geological forces that took place over the past five million years. The lake itself formed approximately 760,000 years ago.
The steady runoff from enormous salt deposits in the region over vast spans of time inexorably made this body of water extremely alkaline in nature. The captivating site also continues to remain somewhat geologically active, with the most recent eruption occurring just over 350 years ago.
That latest eruption further formed yet another remarkable feature residing within the lake itself. That’s a small island bearing the name of Paoha Island. But its marvels do not simply end there, since numerous amazing limestone towers also appear all along the perimeter of the incredible lake.
Mono Lake also boasts some comparatively impressive physical statistics. Presently, the site covers an area measuring roughly 70 sq mi (181 sq km). Its maximum known depth currently sits at approximately 600 ft (183 m), and the surface sits at an altitude of 6,380 ft (1,945 m) above sea level.
Mono Lake Location and Ecosystem
The eerily magnificent body of water known as Mono Lake formed in an area of the world already well known for its extraordinary abundance of geological splendor. To the surprise of many, given its unique nature, the lake formed in part of what now constitutes California, in Mono County.
More precisely, this zone itself forms a state in the United States, situated in North America. This fact may surprise many people, given the standard image of that specific region of the country. However, the greater area also has some desert regions, one of which serves as home to this site.
Despite being part of a localized desert environment, this natural marvel serves as home to a fully thriving ecosystem. Fish cannot live in these waters, but Nature nonetheless adapts. At the heart of this astonishing system is the presence of a vast population of a diminutive brine shrimp species.
These actually represent an indigenous creature that surprisingly not only survives, but thrives in the lake’s alkaline waters. These tiny crustaceans, which measure about the size of a fingernail, remain inedible to humans. Numerous shorebirds, however, easily and frequently thrive on them.
An enormous volume of microscopic algae also lives within the unique waters of the lake, sometimes creating a dramatic effect. The presence of such a quantity of algae has the unfortunate effect of occasionally turning it bright green in color. The native crustaceans feed on the algae.
The enormous quantities of these invertebrates, believed to possibly number as many as six trillion, populate the lake and provide an essential food supply for many shorebirds during their migrations. Each year, as many as two million of these avians pause at Mono Lake to rest and feed.
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