Saline soda lake in Mono County, known for the lack of an outlet that causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake and make many columns of limestone rise above the surface
Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve
Open daily 7am to 8pm
How to Get There
From Mammoth Lakes: Head west. Turn left toward CA-203 E/Main St. Turn left onto CA-203 E/Main St. Continue to follow CA-203 E. Turn left to merge onto US-395 N toward Lee Vining
Overview
Mono Lake is an ancient, salty desert lake near Lee Vining on the east side of the Sierra Nevada, at least 760,000 years old, famous for the eerie limestone tufa towers that rise from its surface and for its otherworldly landscape and abundant birdlife. The lake has no outlet, so salts accumulate and make the water alkaline. The tufa formed underwater and was exposed as the lake level dropped.
Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, established in 1981, protects the best tufa formations; the South Tufa area is the most popular for walks. The lake lies at the northern end of the Mono-Inyo Craters, a 25-mile chain of volcanic craters, domes and lava flows, and is about 13 miles from Yosemite’s Tioga Pass entrance.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mono Lake", "Mono-Inyo Craters", and "Mono Basin National Scenic Area", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Featured Trails
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Akos Kokai, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
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Panum Crater
Volcanic cone south of Mono Lake between 600 and 700 years old, exhibiting all of the characteristics of the textbook rhyolitic lava dome
