Mono Lake - An Amazing Saline Water Lake in California ~ Apex Planet

Mono Lake - An Amazing Saline Water Lake in California

Located in the high desert on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California, Mono Lake is one of the most amazing lakes in the USA. This incredible lake is a large saline water lake about eight thousand feet above the sea level. Mono Lake is the oldest lake in North America. It was formed at least 700,000 years ago. It is a beautiful lake with magical limestone towers on the surface.

Photo credit

This incredible lake was formed as a terminal lake in a basin that has no outlet to the ocean. The lack of an outlet means water entering the lake from Eastern Sierra streams leaves only through evaporation. This, in turn, results in high concentrations of salts and minerals being left behind in the lake.

Photo credit

The most prominent feature of this lake is its incredible tufa towers emerging from the surface of the lake. The tufa towers are limestone towers and occur naturally in the Mono Lake. These limestone towers form from the reaction when underwater springs (rich in calcium) mix with the waters of the lake (rich in carbonates).