Great Salt Lake is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. The lake is a remnant of pre-historic Lake Bonneville, which covered more than 20,000 square miles during the Ice Age. Currently the Great Salt Lake is 75 miles long by 28 miles wide covering 1, 7000 square miles. The maximum depth is about 33 feet but the depth and size vary with seasonal evaporation and precipitation. Water flows from four river drainages, carrying 2.2 million tons of minerals into the lake each year. The Great Salt Lake has no outlet and the water leaves only through evaporation so high concentrations of minerals are left behind. The salinity level ranges between 4 and 28 percent compared to the ocean at 3 percent. |
