Mono Lake

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Tufa towers like in the Mono Lake are calcium carbonate spires and knobs formed by interaction of freshwater springs and alkaline lake water. Tufa can reach heights of 30 ft. (9.1m). Mono Lake is located in the Eastern Sierra and covers about 65 square miles. Throughout the lake's existence of over 1 million years, the steady evaporation of freshwater originally coming from Eastern Sierra streams has left the salts and minerals behind so that the lake is now about 2 1/2 times as salty and 80 times as alkaline as the ocean. Mono Lake Tufa is now a California state reserve.
A hypersaline lake with an unusually productive ecosystem. It is also a major nesting ground for various bird species in California. Mono Lake was also a major source of water for the Los Angeles area.

Volcanic activity has occurred in the lake, with the most recent at Paoha Island, a lava dome and cinder cone only about 250 years ago.

The movie "High Plains Drifter" with Clint Eastwood was shot here, centered on the fictional town of Lago which was on the shores.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Plains_Drifter

Researchers have discovered the first known microorganism on Earth able to thrive and reproduce using the toxic chemical arsenic in Mono Lake. The microorganism substitutes arsenic for phosphorus in its cell components.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halomonadaceae