Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve is located along U.S. Highway 395, just east of Yosemite National Park at Lee Vining. The reserve includes the state-owned lands of the Mono Basin that have been exposed as Los Angeles water diversion has dropped the level of Mono Lake by 40 feet. It is one of the oldest lakes in North America, and it/s rich in salt and minerals - 2 1/2 times more salty and 80 times more alkaline as seawater.

Carbonates in the lake water and freshwater springs with calcium feeding into the lake have led to the create of ... (more)