Mono Lake

Mono Lake is a desert sea east of the Sierra. Since the water is 2 1/2 times as salty as the ocean, I hesitate to call it an oasis, though the migratory birds that hang out there enjoy it. At any rate, it's rather a bizarre place with the tufa towers (calcified limestone created by underwater springs) , billions of brine flies (who don't bother humans) and the unusual natural setting...desert surrounded by towering mountains. The lake is much lower than it was 70 years ago, as the city of Los Angeles began siphoning water from the creeks that drain into the lake. By the 1980s the lake level had fallen over 40 feet and the ecosystem was crashing. For example, the water level dropped so low that islands that had been nesting sites for thousands of birds were connected to land, enabling predators to prey on the birds' nests. Fortunately, conservationists got together with the LA water people and worked out a compromise where the lake will be raised about 20 feet from its lowest level...enough to preserve the ecosystem but not so much as to significantly reduce water supplies to LA. So, currently the lake level is rising and will rise another 10 feet or so in the next decade, weather permitting.

The deep blue water in the middle of the desert combined with the gnarly tufa towers have made Mono a rather surreal place for decades. For example, one of Pink Floyd's albums from the 1970s, Wish You Were Here, included a postcard of the lake with the record. The visible tufa towers are a legacy of the previous higher lake levels; when the towers are actually forming, they are completely under water.

The Lizard thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Mono Lake. In addition to liking desert environments, he's always up for unusual scenery.