Gallery of Sierra flowers. Flowers of the Sierra Nevada. National Park Service - Sequoia & Kings Canyon. National Park Service - Devils Postpile. National Park Service - Yosemite. California State Parks - Mono Lake Tufa. The reserve was established to preserve the spectacular "tufa towers," calcium-carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. It also protects the lake surface itself as well as the wetlands and other sensitive habitat for the 1 – 2 million birds that feed and rest at Mono Lake each year. Mono Lake is a majestic body of water covering about 65 square miles. It is an ancient lake, over 1 million years old -- one of the oldest lakes in North America.
It has no outlet. Throughout its long existence, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams. Freshwater evaporating from the lake each year has left the salts and minerals behind so that the lake is now about 2 1/2 times as salty as the ocean and very alkaline. Location/DirectionsHighway 395, 13 miles east of Yosemite National Park, near the town of Lee Vining, California. Winter is a particularly beautiful time at Mono Lake. Facilities - Activities. Mono Lake Map.