February starts snowy at Mono Lake
This winter season started with the driest autumn since 2013, with no measurable snow in Lee Vining as of the New Year. Then it snowed a little in January, but as of the end of January Lee Vining still only…
Category: Natural history
Singing ice on a Mono Basin freshwater lake
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on December 5, 2020. As winter ’23-’24 starts out cold and fairly dry, we’ve been enjoying more singing ice on local freshwater lakes, so we’re bringing back this post! Today’s Mono Lake Moment…
A deep look at Mono Lake’s alkali flies
Mono Lake’s fascinating alkali flies were featured today as part of KQED San Francisco’s Deep Look video series, which explores big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. If you have five minutes, take a look to see detailed, close-up footage…
Mono Lake on PBS Nature
Today PBS Nature featured Mono Lake as part of their Untold Earth video series, which explores our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. Mono Lake certainly fits that description! The nine-minute segment was filmed this summer, showing flocking phalaropes, remnants…
Naturalist notes
California Gulls fly from their nesting colony on the islets east of Negit Island to the edges of Mono Lake to forage in the shallows and along the shoreline where flies congregate, and to bathe in the freshwater flowing in…
Phalarope murals underway at Mono Lake
Argentinian mural artist arrives in Lee Vining The Mono Basin community is pleased to welcome artist Franco “Vato” Cervato, who has traveled from his home in Cordoba, Argentina, to paint several murals in Lee Vining. His mural in Miramar, on…
Phalarope mural to further connect saline lakes
The sight of phalaropes flocking at Mono Lake is truly something to behold. Inspired by both the phalaropes as well as the coordinated international efforts to protect their saline lake habitats in North and South America—we have hatched a plan…
Naturalist notes
This winter, poconip fog reigned in the Mono Basin. From the first snow in early November to the lengthening days of March, if we weren’t catching monster snowflakes on our tongues from snowstorm after snowstorm, we were enveloped in a…
Notable poconip fog at Mono Lake
This winter has not only been notable for the incredible amounts of snow that have fallen, but also for the poconip fog. We’ve had more than 40 days of poconip fog since November 1, 2022, which is the record in…
It’s flower season at Mono Lake
Despite an abnormally dry winter, flowers are once again blooming in the Mono Basin. Some are blooming later than in a typical year, but we are still seeing a full array of beautiful colors by Mono Lake and its tributary…