Tufa formations on the shore of Mono Lake

After leaving Bishop on Friday morning, we headed up to Mono Lake, a place neither of us had ever seen. We didn’t really have time to take a walk near the more interesting formations, but we did go to the visitor center to learn more about the lake, including the distinctive tufas. Some small ones can be seen near the shoreline in this picture.

Bird nest under eave of building

My overall impression was that it is very much like a small Great Salt Lake. It has no outlet so it has a very high salinity level. The only thing that seems to live in it is brine shrimp, like Great Salt Lake, along with those annoying flies that feed on the brine shrimp. There were also bird nests under the eaves of the visitor center just like you see at Saltair in Utah. The birds feast on the flies.

Little buddy

Here is a cute little fellow who was also hanging around the visitor center.

Mono Lake

The lake level decreased by 40 feet during the period from the 1940’s to the 1990’s due to people siphoning off the water. This was halted in the 90’s, so the lake level has recovered somewhat, but it has a long way to go to be fully replenished to its old levels. It is a very beautiful place.