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 or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

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 Salt lake, 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 Hypersaline lake, high levels of salts to accumulate in the lake ...

and the northern half of the

Mono Craters Mono may refer to: Biology * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monocyte, a type of leukocyte (white blood cell) * Monodactylidae, members of which are referred to as monos Technology and computing * Mono (audio), single-cha ...

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

. 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 p ...

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 within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

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 area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mono County, California, United States. It is located south-southeast of Bridgeport ...

, 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 ...

(the eastern entrance to

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

), on U.S. Route 395. 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, tufa tower" formatio ...

Panum Crater Panum Crater is a volcanic cone that is part of the Mono–Inyo Craters, a chain of recent volcanic cones south of Mono Lake and east of the Sierra Nevada, in California, United States. Panum Crater is between 600 and 700 years old, and it exhibit ...

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