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Mono Lake is in California, near the base of the Sierra Nevadas, and its water is so highly impregnated with alkaline matter as to parch and burn the tongue on tasting it : wash your hands in it. and the skin will shrivel unless immediately rinsed in fresh water. The lake Las been most inaptlv termed the “dead sea*' cf the west. It should be called the k*live sea—it ilt; a sea of life, and is alwavs lively from the most dreadful storms. It is true, the lake contains no fish of anv kind.yet its waters teem with animal life. This alkaline solution abound' with myriads of aquatic insects and animal-cuia. They are first seen as a larva*floating on the surface, then lower in the water in the form uf animalcula, and finally they sport in the shape ofsmall grub-worms, swimming about inthe manner of little fishes. I he margin of the lake is strewed with their tinvmcarcasses, where thev are driven Lv storms and piled up in ridges or mounds from one foot to three feet in bight.CTheir remains unit a very unpleasantodor, over and around which continually%swarm a peculiar black fly, either feeding lt;ff the decomposing mas? or depositing its ova. The lake affords fine feeding ground for innumerable water-c ofowl, such as gulls, lucks, geese, brantO f • c *and swan, which remain in the neighborhood until spring, laying their eggs on the many islands in the lake. I: is said that many of these birds have been shot and found with the webs of their feet eaten off by the corrosive quality of the water. The few Indians that now 1 inhabit the country around tin.* lake col- '•loot vast supplies c«f those aquatic grubs, «and, after di ving them in the sun. roll 'them between stones until a white kernel !falls out, which they mix with the flourof wild rve and root', and devour lt;%luscious morsels. The lake contains i numerous islands, several of which have . many boiling springs, sending up beau- ' tiful columns of steam. All of the ■ islands present evidences of intense vel- 1eanic di.'turbance : on every side are to J be seen the craters of those extinct fires, lt;and lava and other igneous remains cover the ground with their fantastic ’ forms. Numerous largo streams flow’ iinto the lake, which has no apparentoutlet. Though it is well sheltered bv *«a succession of loftv mountain ranges t%encircling it. perhaps no more boisterous lt;sheet of water can be found anywhere. lt;*Storms and hurricanes prevail full nine ’ months of the Year ; thev arc nut regu- lt;lar and continuous, but occur in the lt;most sudden and fitful fashion, without 1 a moment's premonition, which renders 1 any attempt to navigate its waters unpleasant if not hazardous. Near the southern extremity of the lake are the remains of three very remarkable vol-canoes. These three cone shaped peaks rise to the bight of fifteen hundred feet, presenting craters of great and variable depth, from which there once belched forth vast volumes of molten lava.l'heir sides, from summit to base, are even now covered with vast accumulation.' of debris, and offer a most inviting field tu the curious and intelligent travelers.— Reese River Reveille.
Newspaper Details
Oroville Weekly Union Record
Oroville, California, US
Sat, Dec 09, 1865
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Dean T.
USA 28 Nov 2022
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