Cemetery Road (FR 02N40)

Eastern Mojave Vegetation	Cemetery Road, Forest Road 02N40, Mono County, California
	Tom Schweich

Cemetery Road in Mono County is on the northwest shore of Mono Lake. It runs from US Highway 395, past the Mono Lake County Park and the Mono Lake Cemetary, then north of Black Point and Dechambeau Ranch where it meets California Highway 167.

Other articles:
• U. S. Highway 395: at Cemetery Rd;

Junction: US Highway 395, south to Lee Vining, or north to Bridgeport, Reno Nevada, etc.

Other articles:
• Mono Lake Basin Flora: at Dechambeau Ck;

Locations: Dechambeau Creek.

Dechambeau Creek

Other articles:
• Field Notes: 24-Jun-2007; 22 Jul 2013; Coll. No. 1010; Coll. No. 1011; Coll. No. 1012;
• Mono Lake Basin Flora: at Dechambeau Ck;

Locations: Thompson Ranch.

A still functioning irrigation ditch in the former Thompson Ranch

Thompson Ranch north of Mono Lake County Park

Coll. No. 1011, Hypericum scouleri

Coll. No. 1012, Chenopodium leptophylum

Above the county park are some large trees in a meadow. The area is signed as private property of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. I had thought that this was Mono Vista Spring. However, tomorrow at the Mono Historical Museum, I would learn that this was the location of the Thompson Ranch house. Regardless, this was only a pleasant partially shaded meadow.

Two interesting collections from Thompson Ranch have been Myosotis laxa, the Bay Forget-Me-Not, which I think is a recent introduction to the Mono Lake Basin, and Hypericum scouleri, Scouler's Gold Wire. These were made along a former irrigation ditch which seems to still function. In a drier part of the meadow, I collected Chenopodium lentophylum, Narrowleaf Goosefoot.

Other articles:
• Field Notes: 23 Sep 2006; 12 Oct 2024;
• Mono Lake Basin Flora: at County Park;

Locations: Mono Lake. Mono Lake County Park.

Mono Lake County Park.

Boardwalk to Mono Lake shore at Mono Lake County Park.

Mono Lake at Mono Lake County Park on north shore.

Concert in Mono Lake County Park at conclusion of the 2010 Chautauqua.

Mono Craters from Mono Lake County Park

Board walk to Mono Lake shore and tufa.

Other articles:
• Field Notes: 23 Sep 2006;

Locations: Mono Lake Cemetery.

Mono Lake Cemetery

Other articles:
• Field Notes: Coll. No. 845; Coll. No. 846; Coll. No. 847; Coll. No. 848; Coll. No. 849; Coll. No. 977;
• Mono Lake Basin Flora: at Mill Creek;

Locations: Mill Creek.

Coll. No. 845, Juncus macrandrus	Coll. No. 845, Juncus macrandrus	Coll. No. 846, Myosotis laxa	Coll. No. 846, Myosotis laxa	Coll. No. 847, Erythranthe utahensis
Coll. No. 848, Epilobium ciliatum var. ciliatum	Coll. No. 849, Ranunculus aquatilis var. diffusus	Coll. No. 977, Populus trichocarpa

A few plants collected along Mill Creek above Cemetery Road.

Other articles:
• Field Notes: Coll. No. 1005; Coll. No. 1006; Coll. No. 1007; Coll. No. 1008; Coll. No. 1009;
• Mono Lake Basin Flora: at Mill Creek;

Locations: Mill Creek.

Habitat of Coll. No. 1006, Myosotis laxa

Coll. No. 1007, Polypogon monspeliensis

Coll. No. 1005, Veronica anagallis-aquatica

Coll. No. 1009, Rumex triangulivalvis

Coll. No. 848, Epilobium ciliatum var. ciliatum

I have had the best success following the west side of Mill Creek when hiking down to the delta of the creek at Mono Lake. Here are some of the plants found there:

Literature Cited:
- Ali, Guleed, Ke Lin, Sidney Hemming, and Xianfeng Wang, 2026.

Other articles:
• Field Notes: 21 Jun 2012; 21 Jun 2012;
• Mono Lake Basin Flora: at Mill Creek;

Locations: Mill Creek.

Mill Creek just below Cemetery Road

Mill Creek above Cemetery Road.

Mill Creek

Literature Cited:
- Bridge, John, and Robert Demicco, 2008.

Other articles:
• Racetrack Valley Road: Ubehebe Crater;
• Field Notes: 20090708040;

Deformed sediments near Mill Creek

This popular geology field trip location is an example of soft sediment deformation of late Pleistocene - Holocene lake sediments, probably triggered by seismic shock.

Here are some links to places where this example was used. Some of the links may break as time goes by.

University of California, Riverside GCEC Research Trip 2008 (http://earthscience.ucr.edu/gcec_pages/gcec_events.html)
AGI Earth Science World Image Bank: http://www.earthscienceworld.org/images/search/lightbox2.html?ID=i8bizn
Tulane University, Photos From 2002 Death Valley - Owens Valley Field Trip: http://www.tulane.edu/~eens/geol/fieldtrip2002/Soft_Sediment_Deformation_in_Mono_Lake_beds.jpg

Other articles:
• Field Notes: 23 Sep 2006;
• Mono Lake Basin Flora: at Mill Creek;

Locations: Mill Creek.

Mill Creek near Mono Lake.

View of Mill Creek

Literature Cited:
- Ali, Guleed, Ke Lin, Sidney Hemming, and Xianfeng Wang, 2026.

Locations: Wilson Creek.

Wilson Creek

The Wilson Creek Formation, the Late Pleistocene lithostratigraphic unit of the Mono Basin in the western United States has been central to debate concerning Late Pleistocene geomagnetic excursions. Nineteen tephra, predominantly sourced from the Mono Craters volcanic field to the south of Mono Lake (Ali, et al., 2026).

Other articles:
• Black Point Rd. (FR 02N42): at Cemetery Rd;

Locations: Wilson Creek.

Weir on Wilson Creek.

Gate to the DeChambeau irrigation ditch

Junction: Forest Road 02N42 “Black Point Road”, to Black Point and Dechambeau Ranch.

Dechambeau Ranch

Other articles:
• Forest Road 02N20: 37000;

Junction: Forest Road 02N20 “Dechambeau Ranch Q-005” ~~Road through Dechambeau Ranch~~

Other articles:
• Forest Road 02N19: at 02N43N;
• Forest Road 02N43 “Dechambeau Hot Springs”: at Cemetery Rd;

Junction: Forest Road 02N43 “Dechambeau Hot Springs”

Also a very short distance down F. R. 02N43 is the junction with F. R. 02N19, the road to Dechambeau Ponds.

Other articles:
• California Highway 167: at Cemetery Rd;

Junction: California Highway 167, west to US Highway 395, or east to Bodie, the Nevada state line, and other points east of Mono Lake.

If you have a question or a comment you may write to me at: tomas@schweich.com I sometimes post interesting questions in my FAQ, but I never disclose your full name or address.

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Date and time this article was prepared: 4/4/2026 7:44:16 PM