Life finds a way. Sorry to go all Jeff Goldblum on you, but it had to be done. Tucked away in the Owens Valley area of central California lies Mono Lake. This body of water is a testament to the evolution of life, and how ecosystems can teem with life in the most unlikely of places. “Twice as salty and alkaline as the ocean, Mono Lake has no outlet. For more than 760,000 years, water has flowed in but escaped only through evaporation, leaving behind dense mineral deposits. The result is an extreme environment where no fish can survive, yet life has adapted in extraordinary ways: Trillions of brine shrimp and alkaline flies thrive in its waters, forming the base of a food web that supports millions of migratory birds each year.” Read: The Strange, Salty Power Of California’s Mono Lake
Posted: July 19, 2025