A lone cow stands guard at a watering hole among pasture in what was once Owens Lake in the Owens Valley. Lake inflows diverted to Los Angeles via aqueduct in early 1900's largely responsible for lake going largely dry. Lake is currently a large salt flat whose surface is made of a mixture of clay, sand, and a variety of minerals including halite, mirabilite, thenardite, and trona. As part of an air quality mitigation settlement, LADWP is currently shallow flooding 27 square miles (69.9 km2) of the salt pan to help minimize alkali dust storms and further adverse health effects. Inyo County, CA.