Mono Lake
Mono County, California
Jim Drysdale/Alexa Robinson

Jim Drysdale:
I was heading home from a week of fieldwork earlier this month and figured I should hit the famous Mono Lake. This lake is well known for tufa formations that can be viewed along its extensive shoreline. There’s a lot of water here. Also it seems to attract folks from all over the world… Most of them hell-bent on photographing its moody contrasts of water, lighting, distant Sierras, and of course weird rocks. The irony here is that this tufa is so visible thanks to the huge water demands of us humans - in particular, those of Los Angeles. The lake level is now slowly recovering from a huge drawdown that occurred in the past - to meet LA’s demands.

Many great photographers have visited Mono Lake and continue to do so. My intent was merely to get a few quick pics and move on. I did manage to burn a roll of black and white in my vain attempt to capture the coolness of this landscape… I swear this place is a mecca for photo geeks (such as myself).

Note: its great to hit these places when no one else is around… I do love the off-season! Nothin’ but myself and a few gulls on a cold falls’ day.

I also hiked up in Mono Buttes and took a few shots of that area. This is apparently one of the most recent volcanic events that has occurred, making it the youngest chain of mountains to be found.

Mono Lake Boardwalk takes visitors past the tufas Mono Lake is known for. (Alexa Robinson)

Note from Dave:
Alexa Robinson and Jim Drysdale are major contributors to Desertislands.org, having shared some valuable and unique insights on many locations throughout Utah, Nevada and California. We thank Alexa and Jim for the photos on this page.

Birds gathering at the shore (Alexa Robinson)

(Alexa Robinson)

(Alexa Robinson)
A close-up of the calcium carbonate that forms the famous tufas of Mono Lake.

Just up the road from Mono Lake is Lundy Lake. Alexa visited this spot and shares the following:

Autumn leaves in Lundy Canyon (Alexa Robinson)

Lundy Lake, a popular fishing hole near Mono Lake

Lundy Lake (Alexa Robinson)

Lundy Cemetery (Alexa Robinson)

Lundy Cemetery (Alexa Robinson)

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