Existing comment:
Saltier Than The Sea:
Recipe for a Lake:
Dip your fingers into the water. It feels slippery. Put a little on your tongue. It tastes both salty and bitter. You are experiencing minerals washed into the lake by streams and springs. Two key ingredients are sodium chloride (table salt) and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). These and other minerals make Mono Lake 2.5 times saltier than the ocean and 100 times as alkaline.
New Levels of Buoyancy:
Mono Lake's mineral-rich water is much denser than fresh water, or even the ocean. This means objects float higher than normal. Gulls seem to have a difficult time keeping their feet in the water when they paddle. Fully loaded canoes float as if empty. Swimmers find it hard to sink!
Although Mono Lake is far too alkaline for fish, its waters are full of other creatures. |