Photo gallery of Mono Lake, California
Mono Lake is the saline remnant of a much larger lake that filled the Mono basin during the Pleistocene. The ancient fresh-water lake, Lake Russell, was named for Israel C. Russel, who first mapped the area in 1881. At its highest level, the shore of Lake Russell once lapped against the foot of the Sierra Nevada about 130 m above its current water level. Several lava domes and flows in the middle of Mono lake were erupted less than about 1,000 years ago. Paoha Island is predominantly a domed mass of lake-bottom sediments that was uplifted by an intrusion of magma beneath the lake as recently as 350 years ago. The lake is 40-50 m deep immediately west of Paoha Island, and several submarine craters have been identified around the island.
Photograph by C.D. Miller in 1982
Aerial view from above Mono Lake towards the west-southwest; Paoha Island in center of lake. The declining water level of the lake is clearly seen by the parallel lines and white-colored lake deposits ringing the shore. The diversion of fresh-water inflow to the city of Los Angeles and evaporation has led to the decline in water level at a rate of about 1 m per year. The snow-covered mountains in the background are the Sierra Nevada.
Photograph by C.D. Miller in 1982
View of the Mono Craters and south shore of Mono Lake; view is toward the west-southwest. The snow-covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada are in background. Several domes and thick rhyolite lava flows erupted from the Mono Craters rise above the gently sloping surface along the south shore of the lake, including Panum Dome and North Coulee, both of which were erupted between A.D. 1325 and 1365.
Photograph by S.R. Brantley on
July 28, 1998
A view looking west over the Casa Diablo Hot Springs and the Mammoth geothermal power facility (which produces 40 Mw of electrical energy). Mammoth Mountain is the dominant peak on the skyline, and the jagged peaks to the right of Mammoth Mountain are the Minarets. The Casa Diablo Hot springs are just beyond the power facility along the western edge of a down-faulted block at the southwestern margin of the resurgent dome. The low ridge in the middle right of the photo marks the western edge of the down-faulted block.
More information about Mono Lake
- Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area, provided by the U.S. Forest Service
- Information provided by the Mono Lake Committee, a non-profit citizen's group
