MonoLake is both beautiful and desolate. The snow capped mountain backdrop is stunning, but the area around the lake supports very few living plants. The view of the 165 square mile lake, as you come down Highway 120 from Yosemite, is breath taking.
The ancient lake is over 1 million years old and is one of the oldest lakes in North America. MonoLake has no outlets and is fed by the snow melt from the Sierra.
In 1941 the Los Angles Department of Water and Power extended the Los Angeles Aqueduct system into the MonoBasin.
So much water was diverted that evaporation soon exceeded inflow and the surface level of MonoLake fell rapidly. By 1982 the lake was reduced to 37,688 acres having lost 31 percent of its 1941 surface area. As a result alkaline sands and once-submerged tufa towers became exposed and NegitIsland became land bridged, exposing the nests of gulls to predators (chiefly coyotes) and forcing the breeding colony to abandon the site. The lake today is 2 1/2 times as salty and 80 times higher in alkaline than the ocean.
MonoLake was saved from going dry when the California State Water Resources Control Board issued an order to protect MonoLake and its tributary streams on September 28, 1994. Since that time, the lake level has steadily risen. In 1941 the surface level was at 6,417 feet above sea level and as of August 2006 it was at 6,385 feet. The lake level of 6,392 feet above sea level is the goal. As of Oct 1, 2010 the level is 6381.582 feet.
The TufaTowers that were once under water can be best seen from the south side of the lake. Tufa are calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and MonoLakes alkaline water. Some people think the towers are weird or bizarre, but I think they look like ruins of an ancient civilization.
Last Sunday I took my kayak out on the lake. It is advisable to stay near shore while boating, and to be alert for sudden high wind. The day I went out on the lake it was perfectly calm. There were Grebes floating on the lake. They love to dive and eat the brine shrimp. Ariel surveys have revealed almost 2 million birds on the lake in the fall. Several of them popped up right in front of my kayak.
Paddling around the TufaTowers was really amazing. You do have to be have to careful not to hit some of the underwater formations. Somehow I thought the towers would be fragile and crumbling, but that is not the case. I was surprise to see Osprey nests on top of some of the towers. I have since read that the Osprey nest at MonoLake and fly off to surrounding fresh water lakes to catch fish as there are no fish in MonoLake.
The salt spray from the lake can play havoc with your kayak and gear. I even had to give my camera and lenses a "bath" when I got home.
In 1941 the Los Angles Department of Water and Power extended the Los Angeles Aqueduct system into the 