The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

Eastern California Eastern California is a region defined as either the strip to the east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada or as the easternmost counties of California. Demographics According to the 2010 census, the population of the eastern border counties of Ca ...

that surrounds

Mono Lake Mono Lake ( ) is a saline soda lake in Mono County, California, formed at least 760,000 years ago as a terminal lake in an endorheic basin. The lack of an outlet causes high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake which make its water alk ...

and the northern half of the

Mono Craters Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters of up to 100 volcanoes ...

. It is administered by the

Inyo National Forest Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest poi ...

as a unit of the National Forest Scenic Area program, under the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

History

The site was first described by tourists in Mark Twain's ''Roughing It''. Mono Basin became the first National Forest Scenic Area in the United States in 1984.

Visitor Center

The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center is located 1/2 mile north of the town of

Lee Vining, California Lee Vining (formerly Leevining, Poverty Flat, and Lakeview) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mono County, California, Mono County, California, United States. It is located south-southeast of Bridgeport, Californ ...

, just east of

Tioga Pass Tioga Pass is a mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range of California. State Route 120 runs through it, and serves as the eastern entry point for Yosemite National Park, at the Tioga Pass Entrance Station. It is the highest elevation h ...

(the eastern entrance to

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

), on

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road be ...

. A variety of activities and exhibits introduce the natural and human history of the Mono Basin. A 20-minute film, an interactive exhibit hall, two art galleries, and a book store are available inside.

Features

Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve is located near Yosemite National Park within Mono County, in eastern California. It was established in 1981 by the California State Legislature to preserve the natural limestone " tufa tower" formations at M ...

* Panum Crater

References

External links

Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve websiteCA.Parks: Mono Lake tufa tower images
* {{authority control Protected areas of Mono County, California Inyo National Forest National scenic areas Protected areas of California Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Protected areas established in 1984 Geography of Mono County, California Museums in Mono County, California Natural history museums in California United States Forest Service protected areas 1984 establishments in California

History

Visitor Center

Features

See also

References

External links