The “Dead Sea” of the West Coast Has Ancient Limestone Towers & Saltier Than the Ocean

Mono Lake, California

East of Yosemite, Mono Lake breaks all the rules of what lakes should look like. Its salty waters support trillions of tiny shrimp that only exist here. The shores sprout limestone towers called tufa, and it’s way saltier than the ocean. Add in a wild conservation success story, and you’ve got one of California’s most interesting natural sites.

Mono Lake Is Over A Million Years Old

Mono Lake is California’s oldest lake, formed about 760,000 years ago. It covers about 65 square miles in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and has outlasted most lakes from its era. The lake sits 6,378 feet above sea level with five freshwater streams flowing in but no outlets.

This unusual setup has concentrated minerals in its waters for centuries, creating the unique chemistry that makes Mono Lake so special today.

The Tufa Towers

The strange tufa towers look like they belong in a fantasy movie but are actually natural limestone formations. These knobby spires form underwater when calcium-rich springs mix with the lake’s alkaline water, creating a chemical reaction that builds towers over time. Some grow over 30 feet tall.

They became visible when the lake’s water level dropped, revealing these underwater sculptures.

Young Volcanoes Surround The Lake

Walk around Mono Lake and you’re surrounded by volcanic activity. The Mono Craters chain extends south of the lake for about 10.5 miles and includes some of North America’s youngest mountains, formed from eruptions just 600 years ago.

Nearby Panum Crater is a perfect example of a rhyolitic plug-dome volcano that erupted less than 700 years ago. There’s also the Black Point Fissure on the north shore erupted underwater about 13,000 years ago.

The Water Is 3x Saltier Than The Ocean

The water at Mono Lake is about 2.5 times saltier than the ocean with a pH around 10, similar to household ammonia. This extreme chemistry results from millions of years of evaporation with no outlet.

The water contains lots of mineral components such as sodium, chloride, carbonate, and sulfate washed down from the Sierra Nevada mountains. These minerals give the lake its milky-blue color. The water feels slippery and soapy to touch, and has a distinct smell that lingers.

Strange Creatures Live Where Fish Cannot Survive

Most aquatic creatures would die in Mono Lake’s harsh waters, but a strange ecosystem thrives here. Trillions of tiny Mono Lake brine shrimp—about the size of a mosquito—fill the waters each summer.

The shoreline also fills with harmless alkali flies sometimes so thick they form black carpets. No fish live in Mono Lake since they can’t survive the alkaline waters. Instead, the simple food chain goes from algae to brine shrimp and alkali flies to birds.

Los Angeles Almost Drained The Lake Dry

In 1941, Los Angeles began taking water from Mono Basin streams to supply the growing city 350 miles south. Over 40 years, the lake lost half its volume, and doubled in saltiness, threatening the entire ecosystem. The exposed lakebed created toxic dust storms.

The Famous South Tufa

Most photos of Mono Lake come from South Tufa, simply because it’s the most accessible collection of tufa formations. South Tufa became visible in the early 1940s as lake levels fell due to water diversions.

Now it’s protected within the Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve, with paths that let you get close to these natural sculptures. Rangers lead summer tours explaining how these formations grew underwater for over decades or even centuries.

The Water Makes People Float Like Corks

The lake’s high salt content makes swimming a weird experience. The water is so dense that you float much higher than you would at a beach or pool. You’ll bob like a cork and it’s nearly impossible to sink even if you try.

If you decide to swim, don’t shave beforehand as small cuts will sting in the alkaline water. Spend enough time in there and you might start to feel your skin start to burn. Bring fresh water to rinse off afterward or you’ll be coated with salt all day.

Scientists Thought They Found Alien-ish Life Here

In 2010, Mono Lake became the center of scientific attention when researchers claimed to have found bacteria, the GFAJ-1, that could use arsenic instead of phosphorus in their DNA.

The news spread worldwide, suggesting life could exist in environments we thought impossible. NASA held a press conference linking this to the search for life on other planets. Other scientists tried to repeat the study and by 2012 had shown the bacteria actually tolerated high arsenic but still needed phosphorus.

Mark Twain Tried To Wash His Clothes Here

Mark Twain visited Mono Lake in 1862 and wrote about it in his book ‘Roughing It,’ published in 1872. He called it a ‘lifeless, treeless, hideous desert… the loneliest place on earth.’

It seems like he found it a great place to do laundry, though. In the same book, he said that they only had to dip their dirty garments twice in the lake, and everything came out clean after writing it out “as if it had been through the ablest of washerwoman’s hands.“

Millions Of Birds Depend On This Lake

Despite its harsh chemistry, Mono Lake is vital for millions of migratory birds. It’s one of North America’s most important bird habitats. The brine shrimp and alkali flies feed more than 300 bird species throughout the year. Majority of California’s seagulls nest on the lake’s islands each spring.

During migrations, up to 1.6 million eared grebes stop to feed and rest. Tens of thousands of Wilson’s and red-necked phalaropes also visit yearly.

Visiting Mono Lake

• Address: Highway 395, 13 miles east of Yosemite National Park, near the town of Lee Vining, California

Summer and fall offer the best times to visit Mono Lake, with pleasant temperatures and open roads. The small town of Lee Vining (population about 557) has motels, restaurants, and the Mono Basin Visitor Center.

While in the area, check out Bodie State Historic Park, a well-preserved ghost town 23 miles northeast of the lake. In summer, you can reach Yosemite National Park via Tioga Pass just a few miles west of Lee Vining.