Just 15 miles south of the ghost town called Bodie — but a two-hour drive on winding mountain roads — there's a large body of water called Mono Lake (70 mi², 180 km²). The name is pronounced as [MOH-noh]. It's more than 150 feet deep at its deepest point. The only "outlet" for water that flows into Mono Lake is evaporation. It's a great salt lake with no outflow. Limestone columns called tufa towers are one of its most striking features. Life in the lake's waters is limited to brine shrimp and alkali flies. Migrating birds feed on those. Here's a brief slideshow about the lake.
Mono Lake is a beautiful but remarkably stark place. The surface of the lake is at more than
six thousand feet (nearly two thousand meters) above sea level.
You can read more about it here.
These visits are something else!
ReplyDeleteI'm officially homesick for California right now. It's hard for me to believe how busy we were back then, 20 years ago, with many camping and road trips around California and the West, as well as trips to France two or even three times a year. Nowadays, driving three miles to the supermarket is an expedition!
DeleteI saw Mono lake in the early nineties but don't remember seeing those tufts. We just rode by it on our way to Death Valley maybe. We are going to San Diego in June. It's been three years since we've been back and haven't seen our family there for two years. Homesickness has always been my problem ever since I became a traveler.
ReplyDeleteHere's an interesting and beautiful video about Mono Lake. jump to video.
DeleteThis series makes me also homesick for California. But I do enjoy seeing pictures of places I didn’t see in person.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know the elevation of Mono Lake. That made it easy to send it’s pristine waters to Los Angeles to wash cars!
Water is not a renewable commodity. If the reckless use of it — like watering the 180+ golf courses in the desert of the Palm Springs area — is not stopped, with the Climate Change California will tun into an American Sahara. Mark my words. I won’t see it, because I’m too old - fortunately - but some of you might!
DeleteI don't know if you read mysteries at all, but San Francisco-based writer Marcia Muller has used Mono Lake as setting in some of her books. It's nice to see pictures of what I had imagined it looks like.
ReplyDeleteI don't read mysteries, but I'm glad you found the photos interesting. I loved going to Mono Lake and went several times over the years.
Delete