Last summer I road-tripped from Las Vegas up to Washington State and one of my “must-see” stops was Mono Lake.

Mono Lake is one of the oldest bodies of water in North America.   It’s a salty, alkaline lake (it has a ph of 10) and is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California (only a couple hours from the Nevada border).   Because of the ph, no fish can live in this water, but it is home to brine shrimp & alkali flies – whose pupae was a staple of the Kutzadika’a people (part of the native Northern Paiute tribe).

The water of Mono Lake feels very soapy on your hands.  It’s actually possible to wash your clothes with just the water from the lake, but it is not recommended, because the high ph will eat through fabrics in just a few washings). But what makes Mono Lake so magnetic, is the tufas that emerged as water levels in the lake sank.   These tufas make this lake look like an alien landscape, and are something that one has to see in person to really appreciate the beauty of.

(click on each photo to see the full image, or scroll to the bottom to see them on my photography site)