Wish you were here

Mono Lake

The location where Pink Floyd's picture of the splash-less diver from the album "Wish You Where Here" was shot. Mono Lake is a large - though shrinking - shallow lake. It was formed at least 760,000 years ago. Having no outlet to the ocean the lake is alkaline and saline.

Besides a rich eco system, the Tufa are a prominent part of the landscape. They were formed under water - by the precipitation of carbonate minerals - when the water level was much higher than today.
Because upstream water is no longer used for the city of Los Angeles, the level of Mono Lake has stabilized since 1994.