Mono Lake, Calif, is a saline terminal soda lake in an endorheic basin. It's ~3x salter than the ocean. The lake formed during the Pleistocene ice age when there was vastly more precipitation than there is today & the Sierra to the west was covered in glaciers. When the lake was deeper, underwater mineral springs formed the calcite tufa towers. Brine shrimp feed on planktonic algae & alkali flies inhabit the shore. Birds love it!

#Lake #Landscape #Geology #Biology #Photography #Darktable