The beautiful, surreal, even otherworldly landscape of Mono Lake was exposed by accident. The water level in Mono Lake dropped after tributaries which fed the lake were rerouted decades ago to supply the growing demands of Los Angeles for water. Tufa Columns are a rare natural occurrence made of travertine (a form of limestone) and are only known to exist in saltwater lakes. These shapes formed over thousands of years as mineral rich water from hot-springs below Mono Lake escaped from the bottom of the lake. Brittle and easily damaged today, these spectacular Tufa Columns are protected as part of California's Mono Lake State Park.