Mono Lake is a large, shallow saline soda lake in Mono County, California. It was formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in a basin, but lacking an outlet to the ocean; resulting in high levels of salts to accumulate and the water becoming alkaline.br/br/This desert lake has an unusually productive ecosystem based on brine shrimp that thrive in its waters, and provides critical nesting habitat for two million annual migratory birds that feed on the shrimp.