Editing Mono Lake (section)

===Lake-level history===
An important characteristic of Mono Lake is that it is a [[Open and closed lakes|closed lake]], meaning it has no outflow. Water can only escape the lake if it [[Evaporation|evaporates]] or is lost to [[groundwater]]. This may cause closed lakes to become very [[Salinity|saline]]. The reconstruction of historical Mono Lake levels through [[Isotopes of carbon|carbon]] and [[D18O|oxygen]] isotopes have also revealed a correlation with well-documented [[Climate change|changes in climate]].<ref name=":15">{{cite journal|last1=Benson|first1=LV|last2=Currey|first2=DR|last3=Dorn|first3=RI|last4=Lajoie|first4=KR|last5=Oviatt|first5=CG|last6=Robinson|first6=SW|last7= Smith|first7=GI|last8=Stine|first8=S|display-authors=4|year=1990|title=Chronology of expansion and contraction of four Great Basin lake systems during the past 35,000 years|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|volume=78|issue=3–4|pages=241–286|doi=10.1016/0031-0182(90)90217-U |bibcode=1990PPP....78..241B }}</ref>

In the recent past, Earth experienced periods of increased [[Glacial period|glaciation]] known as [[ice age]]s. This geological period of ice ages is known as the [[Pleistocene]], which lasted until ~11 [[Millennium|ka]]. Lake levels in Mono Lake can reveal how the climate fluctuated. For example, during the cold climate of the Pleistocene the lake level was higher because there was less [[evaporation]] and more [[precipitation]]. Following the Pleistocene, the lake level was generally lower due to increased [[evaporation]] and decreased [[precipitation]] associated with a warmer climate.<ref name=":15"/>

The lake level has fluctuated during the [[Holocene]], since the end of the ice ages. The Holocene high point is at elevation {{convert|1980.8|m|ft|0|order=flip}}, reached in approximately 1820 BCE.<ref name=holocene-levels>{{cite journal|first=Scott|last=Stine|title=Late holocene fluctuations of Mono Lake, eastern California|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|volume=78|issue=3–4|year=1990|pages=333–381|doi=10.1016/0031-0182(90)90221-R|bibcode=1990PPP....78..333S }}</ref> The low point before modern diversions is at elevation {{convert|1940.9|m|ft|0|order=flip}}, reached in 143 CE.<ref name=holocene-levels/> The lowest modern level due to diversions is at {{convert|6372.0|ft|m|1}}, reached in 1980.<ref name="level"/>