"Lee Vining & Mono Lake Page" a Lee Vining Travel Page by Roeffie

Useful link:

Mono Lake Website

Some Facts about Mono Lake:

DEPTH OF MONO LAKE

Maximum = 160 feet. Average = 58 feet.

AGE OF MONO LAKE

At least 760,000 years old; among the oldest lakes in North America.

VOLUME OF MONO LAKE

4.3 million acre-feet at 6,417 feet above sea level (in 1941 before diversions)
3.0 million acre-feet at 6,392 feet above sea level (future stabilization level)
2.6 million acre-feet at 6,384 feet above sea level (2001 level)
2.1 million acre-feet at 6,372 feet above sea level (1982, lowest recorded level)

LAKE LEVEL

The lake level before the diversions of Mono's tributary streams was 6,417 feet above sea level. The current lake level is 6383.8 feet above sea level (1,946 meters), its volume is approximately 2.6 million acre feet, and its surface area is approximately 45,500 acres. It is expected to take about 15-20 years to reach 6,392 feet above sea level, the Water Board-ordered stabilization level. Once it reaches 6,392, it should usually fluctuate about 6 feet in elevation and occasionally rise as high as 6,395, and during extreme drought, drop as low as 6,382. The yearly evaporation rate is approximately 45 inches per year. Click here for more current and past lake levels.

Without restrictions on stream diversions, the lake would have eventually stabilized at approximately 6,355 feet above sea level with fluctuations of 21 vertical feet. During periods of extreme drought, the lake might have fallen as low as 6,336 - 6,337 feet above sea level.

ECOLOGY OF MONO LAKE

The primary lake life is composed of algae, brine shrimp, and alkali flies, and is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Nesting birds consist of California Gulls (50,000, 85% of California's breeding population and second largest colony in the world after the Great Salt Lake in Utah) and Snowy Plovers (400, 11% of the state's breeding population). Migratory birds include Eared Grebes (1.5-2 million, 30% of the North American population), Wilson's Phalaropes (80,000, 10% of the world population), Red-necked Phalaropes (60,000, 2-3% of the world population), and 79 other species of waterbirds.

GEOLOGY

The Mono Basin is a tectonic basin formed by faulting and downwarping of the earth's crust. It is from one to three million years old. The hills on the north, south, and east sides of the basin are all of volcanic origin. The Mono Craters are 24 domes of explosive rhyolite that have erupted over the last 40,000 years (as recently as 700 years ago), forming the youngest volcanic chain in North America. Black Point, Negit Island, and Paoha Island are also of volcanic origin. Paoha Island emerged within the last 350 years.

Greetings Roeffie!