(Click title for pix!)
We came upon Mono Lake almost by accident as we travelled across the western States. It is a tiny jewel, an inland sea, and a complete world to itself!
Mountain streams from the Sierra provide fresh water. But the lake has no outlet so evaporation over millennia has created a saline world. Underwater calcium rich springs bubbling upward build these tufa (limestone) shapes. Alas, diversion of mountain streams to provide fresh water for Los Angeles caused the lake level to drop dramatically Now these columns sit ‘high and dry’ around the shore!
If you would like to learn more about this area go to https://www.monocounty.org/places-to-go/mono-lake/