Day 288 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways
Yosemite National Park
Mono Lake
From Reno, I followed Highway 385 south to Mono Lake, located just east of the Tioga Pass entrance to Yosemite National Park. Mono Lake, nestled in a basin of sagebrush bordered by volcanic peaks is over 760,000 years old, making it one of the oldest lakes in North America.
The lake has no outlet. For thousands of years, streams have carried their minerals into the lake and evaporation has removed water from it. As a result, the mineral content has risen to almost 10 percent. The salty waters afford swimmers a delightful sensation of buoyancy. While fish can’t survive in these alkaline waters, it is still one of the most productive lakes in the world. It supports millions of brine shrimp, alkali flies, and migratory birds.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
