Mono Lake California |
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Mono Lake, located in California east of Yosemite National Park, is one of the oldest lakes in North America. It is a terminal lake in a watershed fed from melting runoff with no outlet. Dissolved salts in the runoff remain in the lake causing hypersalinity and high alkalinity. As a result, no fish are native to the lake and fabulous limestone tufa towers are created when fresh water interacts with the highly alkaline water. By March the lake is "as green as pea soup" as algae rapidly reproduce following the winter runoff. The lake is famous for the Mono Lake brine shrimp, a tiny species no bigger than a thumbnail that feed on the algae. During the warm summer months, an estimated 4-6 trillion brine shrimp inhabit the lake. Mono Lake is a vital resting and eating stop for migratory shorebirds that feed on the brine shrimp and has been recognized as a site of international importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Nearly 2,000,000 waterbirds, including 35 species of shorebirds, use Mono Lake to rest and eat for at least part of the year. Mono Lake is the second largest nesting population of California Gulls, second only to the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
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