Mono Lake and Tufa Towers, California

The otherworldly vistas at Mono Lake are stunning.

The lake is very salty and alkaline so no fish live in it.  Some algae do, and alkali flies lay eggs there. Mono Lake brine shrimp are native to the lake.  Both the flies and shrimp attract birds who also regularly migrate through the area and eat their fill.

The lake used to be much higher, but LA has taken most of the water.  When you visit you can see how far the lake has shrunk as you have to walk a long path to its current location. Prior to the diversion, the lake held at least twice as much water.  This has exposed “new” alien-looking tufa towers (limestone columns) that were previously under the water, as well as increased the salinity of the lake.