Soda Lake

Located on the southwest side of the 250,000-acre Carrizo Plain National Monument, Soda Lake is one of California's largest remaining natural alkali wetlands. It resides at an elevation of 1,900 feet, where saline waters have been collecting since the Pliocene-Pleistocene era, unable to drain off due to tectonic deformation related to the San Andreas Fault.

Soda Lake is shallow and ephemeral, affected by evaporation so that the brackish waters of its two major basins vary in depth, rising and falling each season. The lake's 130 smaller pans go completely dry as temperatures rise. Summer heat causes the lake not only to shrink, but also to increase gradually in salinity year by year. Salt crusts up to eight inches thick have formed over time. They are fringed by clay dunes, the tallest of which rises to a height of about 55 feet.

A boardwalk has been constructed along the shore to help prevent damage to the saltbush habitat bordering the lake. Wildlife to look for here includes migratory and nesting birds as well as fairy and brine shrimp.

Access to Soda Lake can be made by turning onto Soda Lake Road from the north via California State Highway 58 or from the south via State Highway 166. Following Soda Lake Road to Elkhorn Plain and Seven Mile roads provides a complete 70-mile circular tour of the area. Drivers should note that all of these roads are unpaved.