Sunset Tufa - On the east side of Yosemite at the crossroads of highways 120 and 395 is the tiny town of Lee Vining and the wonderful Mono Basin. The centerpiece of this area is Mono Lake, a vast inland sea of contrasts nestled at the feet of 13K foot peaks of the Sierra Nevada. Although the lake is too alkaline for fish, it is nonetheless a major flyway stopover for migratory birds who consume the lakes abundant brine shrimp and alkaline flies.

Mono Lake is also the home of unusual limestone structures called tufa. They are created when fresh water springs containing calcium bubble up through the carbonate-rich lake to create structures of calcium carbonate, a whitish limestone.