About
4190ft (1277m)
33ft (10m)
950 sq mi (2500 sq km)
50 to 277 ppt, vs. 35ppt average salinity of ocean water
Once a glacier fed mountain lake, the Great Salt Lake has grown and shrunk as the climate ebbed and flowed.
Due to the lake's shallow depth, the size of the lake has varied dramatically. In the 1980s a massive pumping system was developed to prevent flooding.
An Island in the lake was populated iwith Bison and many other endangered animals, as it was safe from predators
Adjacent to the thriving metropolis of the Salt lake City area, water diversions for agriculture and urban users have steadily been draining the lake.
In 2023 it was estimated the lake would dry completely by 2028 without intervention by man or nature.
