Mono Lake, California

Mark Twain thought this lake lifeless and hideous but we found it fascinating. This lake is teeming with tiny brine shrimp that sustains 80% of California's migratory birds. This lake is very salty and alkaline. So salty that you can float on the surface with no effort and so alkaline it feels soapy. The alien looking structures are called tufa, spires of calcium carbonate percolated up from freshwater springs beneath the lake.