-
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake sprawls out
across miles of the northern region of Utah, as the biggest salt
lake in the western hemisphere, the second biggest salt lake in the
world, the fourth biggest terminal lake in the world and the 37th
biggest lake on the earth. During an average year, the size spreads
out to some 1700 square miles, but since it does fluctuate because
of it shallowness, and the exterior elements, it has shrunk to 950
square miles at its lowest point in 1963, or to 3300 square miles as
it did in 1987. It is the biggest remains of a prehistoric lake
called Bonneville, which was a pluvial lake covering most of the
state in those prehistoric days. It is an endorheic lake, which
means the only way it gets smaller is by evaporation, as there
aren't any outlets, and contains a high amount of salinity, much
more so than salt water, and has three rivers feeding it some 1
million tons of minerals into the lake every year. Those rivers are
the Jordan, Bear and Weber, with the balance of evaporated water
being mineral free, but causes it to become more concentrated. Since
it is highly salinated, it will float a human body without any
assistance, but more so in the northern area of the lake which is
saltier and called Gunnison Bay. It shallowness, causes the waters
to be warmer than most lakes its size, which brings heavy
lake-effect snows during the late fall, early winter and spring. It
has been referred to as America's Dead Sea, but it does give a
marvelous habitat form millions of waterfowl, shorebirds, brine
shrimp and native birds that includes the biggest staging population
of Wilson's phalarope in the universe. The lake lent its name
to the city that was originally called Great Salt Lake City by
Brigham Young, president of the Mormon church, who brought a group
of Mormon pioneers here in 1847. The city and suburbs are located
southeast and east of the lake, between it and the Wasatch
Mountains, while the land north and west is almost completely
uninhabited. The famous Bonneville Salt Flats are to the west, with
the Oquirrh and Stansbury Mountains high in the south. The three
main tributaries feeding the huge lake come down from the Uinta
Mountains in northeastern Utah, and a railroad line, the Lucin
Cutoff goes across the lake, going across the southern end of the
Promontory Peninsula. There are many landmasses in the lake, many
called islands, but smaller ones, rocks and shoals can be submerged
during times. Eight are named and visited by many people looking for
the serenity and solitude that the islands offer. Water levels has
been recorded since 1875, rising and falling depending on the rains
that come slamming across the lake. In the 1980s, the record high
levels of water cause a lot of damage to those property owners on
the east side, and began to erode the base of Interstate 80. A huge
project began to regulate the height of the water, and by the end of
the first year had released a half billion feet of water. The pumps
were shut down and have remained that way, although they are still
usable in case of another high year that could lead to flooding or
other problems.
|
