Owens Lake, Salt pan in Owens Valley, California, US
Owens Lake is a dry salt basin in Owens Valley between the Sierra Nevada and the Inyo Mountains in California. The surface covers roughly 108 square miles and sits at an elevation of about 3,550 feet (1,084 m).
The basin held water until 1913, when Los Angeles diverted the Owens River into an aqueduct and sent the water south. The draining triggered decades of conflict with farmers and ranchers and turned the region into a source of dust storms.
The Paiute called this place Pagoasa and harvested kutsavi, the pupae of alkali flies, drying them as a protein-rich food source for centuries. Today, occasional interpretive signs along access roads recall this tradition and the era when water still filled the basin.
The salt flat is best accessed in dry weather and may be partly flooded after rain or snowmelt. Visitors should bring drinking water, as there are no supply points in the area.
Halobacteria thrive in parts of the salt basin and tint the ground red or pink in places. These microorganisms survive in extreme salt concentration and create an unusual color pattern visible from the roadside.
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