Mono Lake-6,378' (Nehit Island)
(38.0076035, -119.0147628)
Description:
“Mono County and Lake are named after a wide-spread division of Shoshonean Indians on both slopes of the Southern Sierra Nevada. In speech and presumably in origin they are closely allied to the Northern Paiute of Nevada and Oregon and the Bannock of Idaho. By their Yokuts neighbors they are called Monachi. The ending -chi occurs otherwise in Yokuts and Miwok as a suffix on names of tribes or divisions. . . . The stem therefore appears to be Mona. To the Spaniards, who knew the Miwok and Yokuts earlier than they knew the Monachi, this stem might easily suggest mono, ‘monkey.’ . . . It appears that Monachi, like most of the names of the Yokuts for their own or other tribes, no longer possesses a determinable meaning.” (Kroeber: California Place Names of Indian Origin, 1916, p. 49.)
Mono County, established 1861, originally extended considerably to the southeast of its present boundary; adjusted on north, 1864, 1866, by creation of Alpine County; curtailed on south, 1866, 1870, by creation of Inyo County. (Coy: California County Boundaries, 1923, pp. 182-183.)
From PlaceNames of the High Sierra (1926) by Francis P. Farquhar
This
is the most remarkable lake I have ever seen. It lies in a basin at the
height of 6,800 feet above the sea. Like the Dead Sea, it is without
an outlet. The streams running into it all evaporate from the surface,
so of course it is very salt—not common salt. There are hot springs in
it, which feed it with peculiar mineral salts. It is said that it
contains borax, also boracic acid, in addition to the materials
generally found in saline lakes. I have bottled water for analysis and
hope to know some time. The waters are clear and very heavy—they have a
nauseous taste. When still, it looks like oil, it is so thick, and it is
not easily disturbed. Although nearly twenty miles long it is often so
smooth that the opposite mountains are mirrored in it as in a glass. The
water feels slippery to the touch and will wash grease from the hands,
even when cold, more readily than common hot water and soap. I washed
some woolens in it, and it was easier and quicker than in any “suds” I
ever saw. It washed our silk handkerchiefs, giving them a luster as if
new. It spots cloths of some colors most effectually. No fish or reptile
lives in it, yet it swarms with millions of worms, which develop into
flies. These rest on the surface and cover everything on the immediate
shore. The number and quantity of these worms and flies is absolutely
incredible. They drift up in heaps along the shore—hundreds of bushels
could be collected. They only grow at certain seasons of the year. The
Indians come far and near to gather them. The worms are dried in the
sun, the shell rubbed off, when a yellowish kernel remains, like a small
yellow grain of rice. This is oily, very nutritious, and not unpleasant
to the taste, and under the name of koo-chah-bee forms a very important
article of food. The Indians gave me some; it does not taste bad, and
if one were ignorant of its origin, it would make fine soup. Gulls,
ducks, snipe, frogs, and Indians fatten on it. From Upand Down California by William Brewer, Book 4 Chapter4
According to GNIS, it is also called Mona Lake: U.S. Geological Survey. Geographic Names Phase I data compilation (1976-1981). 31-Dec-1981. Primarily from U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000-scale topographic maps (or 1:25K, Puerto Rico 1:20K) and from U.S. Board on Geographic Names files. In some instances, from 1:62,500 scale or 1:250,000 scale maps.
Trips:
- June 7, 2014 - Meetup group trip
References:
Pictures:
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