From the Boston Globe Nov. 2, 2005. Reprinted in the St. Petersburg Times Jan. 8, 2006

By Diane Daniel

   MONO BASIN, Calif. - It's not against state law to swim in Mono Lake, but it is against the laws of nature. The water in this ancient geological marvel is so thick with salt (more than twice that of sea water) that floating comes much easier than swimming. 
   I attempted neither, because at the Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve there are no showers in which to wash off the slime and odor associated with the lake's salt and alkalinity. 
   I first learned about Mono Lake (pronounced MOE-no) years ago when a friend sent a postcard showing a lake with knobby towers of limestone formed by its carbonates and the calcium from freshwater springs. (Baby boomers: An image of the lake was used by Pink Floyd in the art for its 1975 “Wish You Were Here” album.) 
   The porous stone spires, some as tall as 40 feet, are called tufa (TOO-fah). They are eerie, even captivating, but they're not nearly as tall or plentiful as some photos lead you to think. 
   The tufa towers are the lake's star attraction, though the area includes an important ecosystem and a thriving bird population. The towers were made visible by the process known as "redirected water." 
   In 1941, Los Angeles began taking water from an area about 300 miles north by diverting four of the five biggest streams that feed Mono Lake. Over the decades, that "redirection" dropped the lake level 40 feet. That is an immense amount of water, because the lake covers about 60 square miles. 
   The tufa, formed underwater during the lake's more than 1-million years, emerged. It looks like stalagmites at the bottom of a cave, and once the tufa is out of the water and no longer absorbing its composite minerals, it stops increasing in size. 
   The best way to view the lake, which is in the state reserve and part of the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area, is to take a naturalist-guided canoe tour (summer weekends only) or a ranger-led walk in the South Tufa area. 
   The canoe rides are led by the volunteer-driven Mono Lake Committee, considered to have the largest membership of any single-issue group in California. The committee, with help from the National Audubon Society, waged a 16-year legal battle to restore the lake. Finally, in 1994 the state issued an order to save the lake and its tributaries, and now its water level is slowly rising. 
   During our visit the canoe trip was booked, so we took a fascinating stroll with Mono Lake Reserve guide Dave Marquart, a 24-year veteran who clearly enjoys telling the lake's story. Along with impressing our group with his repertoire of bird calls, such as the Brewer's sparrow and sage thrasher, Marquart pointed out plants and animals including salt grass and kangaroo mice. 
   "Mark Twain called Mono Lake a dead sea. It's not dead at all: It gets 2-million birds a year," Marquart said.
   And then there are the half-inch-long brine shrimp, seen from April through October. "Let's see if we can catch a few," Marquart said, holding out cups for us all. It's not hard to snag several with one scoop during the summer months, what with an estimated 4-trillion inhabiting the water. 
   The shrimp and the alkali flies feed on the lake's green algae, which blooms in the winter. The well-fed twosome attract the lake's more than 80 species of migratory birds. The most notable species are Wilson's and red-necked phalaropes, eared grebes, and two nesting species, California gulls and snowy plovers. It is estimated that an astonishing 1.5-million grebes migrate from August through October.
   Marquart pointed out volcanic hills to the north and east. The area, at the base of the Sierra Nevada, gets several feet of snow in the winter, though the lake never freezes. 
   To the south are Mono Craters, the youngest mountain range in North America, with the most recent eruption only 650 years ago. The lake has two islands, and one is thought to be only 300 years old, he said, with some volcanic activity still present.
   Either before or after visiting Mono Lake, you'll want to stop in the closest town, Lee Vining, which has about 500 year-round residents. This eastern gateway to Yosemite National Park has a few motels, restaurants and gift shops (many close in the winter).
   It is also home to the Mono Lake Committee Information Center and Bookstore. There you can learn more about one of the continent's oldest lakes, one of its productive ecosystems, and the fight to keep it that way.