The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake

Only the Dead Sea is saltier.

The Great Salt Lake is 17 miles west of Salt Lake City on I-80.
The largest natural lake, west of the Mississippi.  Only the Dead Sea has a higher salt content than The Great Salt Lake.  The lakes salt content varies but percents have been as high as 27%, compared to the ocean at 3%.
This lake is a remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville which was 20,000 square miles during the ice age.
Current day Great Salt Lake is 1700 square miles.  Measuring 75 miles long and 28 miles wide.  With a depth of 34 feet, where it is the deepest.
The salt content is so high fish can not live in it.
The mineral industry extracts 2 million tons of salt from the lake each year.
Morton Salt Company is one of them.  Now you know where your table salt and water softener salt comes from.
Utah wetlands surround The Great Salt Lake, making its ecosystem one of the most important resources for migratory and nesting birds.
Currently the only people enjoying the lake are those with sail boats.  The salt content is too high for motor boats.
With drought conditions for a number of years, the shore line is about 2 miles out to the water. So no facilities are set up for swimming.  You can really float in the Great Salt Lake.