Mono Basin, Endorheic basin in California, United States

Mono Basin is an endorheic basin in eastern California where Mono Lake sits at 6378 feet elevation surrounded by high desert landscape. The lake contains highly saline water that remains in the basin rather than flowing to the ocean.

Native American tribes including the Mono and Owens Valley Paiute lived in this region for thousands of years before European contact. Water extraction for Los Angeles in the 20th century caused the lake level to drop significantly.

The Mono Basin's name comes from the Mono people, whose homeland this was; the Mono Lake Paiute gathered alkali fly pupae along the shore, a food called kutsavi. The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center in Lee Vining explains this human and natural history with exhibits on the lake, the craters and the surrounding Sierra.

US Route 395 runs along the basin's western edge, with pullouts and viewpoints over Mono Lake. The basin floor sits near 6,380 feet, so nights cool sharply even in summer. The Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center in Lee Vining has exhibits on local geology and wildlife. The open terrain gives little shade at midday.

Paoha Island, the youngest land in the basin, was pushed up by an eruption about 350 years ago, and geologists can still read older shorelines of Lake Russell as terraces west of Mono Lake, roughly 330 metres above today's water.