Great Salt Lake
| Great Salt Lake | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Location | Utah, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°10′N 112°35′W / 41.167°N 112.583°WCoordinates: 41°10′N 112°35′W / 41.167°N 112.583°W |
| Type | Endorheic, hypersaline, generally 27% salinity |
| Primary inflows | Bear, Jordan, Weber rivers |
| Catchment area | 21,500 sq mi (55,685 km²) |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 75 mi (120 km) |
| Max. width | 28 mi (45 km) |
| Surface area | 1,700 sq mi (4,400 km²) |
| Average depth | 16 ft (4.9 m), when lake is at average level |
| Max. depth | 33 ft (10 m) average, high of 45 ft (14 m) in 1987, low of 24 ft (7.3 m) in 1963 |
| Water volume | 15,338,693.6 acre·ft (18.92 km3) |
| Surface elevation | historical average of 4,200 feet (1,283 m), 4,190.3 feet (1,277 m) as of 2016 July 7 |
| Islands | 8–15 (variable, see Islands) |
| Settlements | Salt Lake and Ogden metropolitan areas. |
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the Western Hemisphere, and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around 1,700 square miles (4,400 km2), but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its shallowness. For instance, in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded level at 950 square miles (2,460 km²), but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic high of 3,300 square miles (8,500 km2). In terms of surface area, it is the largest lake in the United States that is not part of the Great Lakes region.
The lake is the largest remnant of Lake Bonneville, a prehistoric pluvial lake that once covered much of western Utah. The three major tributaries to the lake, the Jordan, Weber, and Bear rivers together deposit around 1.1 million tons of minerals in the lake each year. As it is endorheic (has no outlet besides evaporation), it has very high salinity, far saltier than seawater, which makes swimming similar to floating, and its mineral content is steadily increasing. Its shallow, warm waters cause frequent, sometimes heavy lake-effect snows from late fall through spring.
Although it has been called "America's Dead Sea", the lake provides habitat for millions of native birds, brine shrimp, shorebirds, and waterfowl, including the largest staging population of Wilson's phalarope in the world.
...
Wikipedia