5. A. Druse

Salinity and Hydrology 

of Closed Lakes

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 412
Salinity and Hydrology 

of Closed Lakes

By WALTER B. LANGBEIN

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 412

A study of the long-term balance 

between input and loss of salts 

in closed lakes

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1961
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

STEW ART L. UDALL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Thomas B. Nolan, Director

The U.S. Geological Survey Library has cataloged this publication as follows:

Langbein, Walter Basil, 1907-

Salinity and hydrology of closed lakes. Washington, U.S. 

Govt. Print. Off., 1961.

iii, 20 p. diagrs., table. 30 cm. (U.S. Geological Survey. Professional paper 412) 

Bibliography: p. 19-20.

1. Salinity. 2. Lakes. 3. Hydrology. I. Title. (Series)

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington 25, B.C.
CONTENTS

Abstract-____________________________________

Introduction _________________________________

Climatologic and hydrologic factors _____________

Climatologic limits for closed lakes.__ _ _______

Water balance and fluctuations in water levelHistorical fluctuations in lake level-__________

Comparison with drainage lakes_____________

Salt content of closed lakes____________________

Loss of salts with variation in lake level _____

Lake data.______________________________

Page

1 Salt content of closed lakes Continued Page

1 A schematic cycle-------_-------_--------------- 9

2 Mechanisms for the loss of salts. _--_---_-----_--- 10

2 Effect of changes in lake volume on composition.--- 11

4 Percentage of chloride ions_-_____----_----------_ 12

7 Application of lake data--_-------_----_--_---------- 12

7 Salinity in relation to hydrologic properties ________ 12

8 Time for accumulation of salts. __________________ 15

8 Hydrologic data._____________-_________----_------- 17

8 References.--.-.----------------------------------- 19

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

FIGURE 1. Fluctuations in depth of closed lakes______-______-__-____________________-_-____--------_-------------- 2

2. Relation of annual lake evaporation to annual temperature and annual precipitation___________-__-_-___-___- 3

3. Net evaporation in terms of temperature and precipitation-______-_______________-_-_----___------_---_--_ 3

4. Distribution of ratios of lake areas at overflow level to tributary area__.____________-___-________-__-------- 4

5. Typical relations between surface area and volume of closed lakes_______________________ _________________ 5

6. Generalized relation between coefficient of variation of annual runoff and average annual runoff______________ 6

7. Variation of salt content with water volume.- ___-___________--_-_________-------------_----------------- 8

8. Schematic variation of salt content in solution with fluctuations in lake volume-_____________________________ 9

9. Salt regime of a playa_ _-_-_____-_____-__________________________-_---_______-_------_----_-_--------- 10

10. Generalized graph showing variation in chloride with salinity._____________________________________________ 12

11. Relative solubilities of salts in distilled water-_-_____-_-___-___-__________-___-------------_------------- 13

12. Comparison between observed and computed salinity of closed lakes______________________________________ 14

13. Generalized association between concentration of dissolved matter in river water and regional net evaporation___ 15

TABLE

TABLE 1. Hydrologic data for closed lakes.

Page 

18

in

SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

By WALTER B. LANGBEIN

ABSTRACT

Lakes without outlets, called closed lakes, are exclusively 

features of the arid and semiarid zones where annual evaporation 

exceeds rainfall. The number of closed lakes increases with 

aridity, so there are relatively few perennial closed lakes, but 

"dry" lakes that rarely contain water are numerous.

Closed lakes fluctuate in level to a much greater degree than 

the open lakes of the humid zone, because variations in inflow 

can be compensated only by changes in surface area. Since 

the variability of inflow increases with aridity, it is possible to 

derive an approximate relationship for the coefficient of variation 

of lake area in terms of data on rates of evaporation, lake area, 

lake depth, and drainage area.

The salinity of closed lakes is highly variable, ranging from less 

than 1 percent to over 25 percent by weight of salts. Some evidence suggests that the tonnage of salts in a lake solution is 

substantially less than the total input of salts into the lake over 

the period of existence of the closed lake. This evidence suggests further that the salts in a lake solution represent a kind of 

long-term balance between factors of gain and loss of salts from 

the solution.

Possible mechanisms for the loss of salts dissolved in the lake 

include deposition in marginal bays, entrapment in sediments, 

and removal by wind. Transport of salt from the lake surface in 

wind spray is also a contributing, but seemingly not major, factor.

The hypothesis of a long-term balance between input to and 

losses from the lake solution is checked by deriving a formula for 

the equilibrium concentration and comparing the results with the 

salinity data. The results indicate that the reported salinities 

seemingly can be explained in terms of their geometric properties 

and hydrologic environment.

The time for accumulation of salts in the lake solution the 

ratio between mass of salts in the solution and the annual input 

may also be estimated from the geometric and hydrologic factors, 

in the absence of data on the salt content of the lake or of the 

inflow.

INTRODUCTION

Closed lakes have no outlet and are therefore salty 

to various degrees. Some, like Walker Lake in Nevada, contain less than 1 percent salt in solution; 

others such as Great Salt Lake, contain more than 25 

percent salt. These differences in salt content need to 

be explained.

The classic explanation of the salt content of closed 

lakes is that the salt load continuously accumulates, 

except for the precipitation of the less soluble salts, 

the total content is presumed to be the total input 

of salts during the time since the lake last overflowed

as an open lake. This theory has often been applied 

to determination of the age of lakes. Indeed, 

Edmund Halley (1715), suggested that the "saltness" 

of the ocean is a measure of its age, observing rather 

cautiously that" though perhaps by it the world may be 

found much older than many have hitherto imagined."

The principle presumes a steady accumulation of 

one or more of the influent ions. But if the influent 

salts were accumulative, then many closed lakes ought 

to be saturated with respect to one or more of the 

common salts. A count by Hutchinson (1957) showed 

that most closed lakes contain less than 5 percent dissolved matter; only a few have over 10 percent in solution. The saturation point for common salt is over 30 

percent. The relatively low salinity suggests that salt 

accumulation may be offset by some process of salt 

wastage.

In reviewing this evidence in an earlier paper, Hutchinson (1937) concluded:

The relatively high frequency of such brackish as opposed to 

highly saline waters may be explained in part by the opportunity 

given by extremes of climatic fluctuations for the loss of salt 

from closed basins as indicated above. That the total duration 

of the lake basin is of less importance is abundantly demonstrated 

by the probable history of the Lahontan Lakes.

Hutchinson therefore concluded that

The present salinity of the lakes [Pyramid and Walker Lakes in

Nevada] is not directly related to their age.

The question had intrigued Gilbert (1890, p. 229) 

when, in 1880, he visited Sevier and Rush Lakes in 

Utah. Like Great Salt Lake, these lakes are remnants of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. Sevier Lake 

had over twice the salinity of sea water, but nearby 

Rush Lake was "drinkable though too brackish to be 

palatable." Although he observed that these two 

lakes existed under nearly identical conditions, he 

concluded that the relative freshness of Rush Lake, 

the smaller of the two, was to be accounted for by the 

fact that it had once "evaporated to dryness, and its 

saline matter being thus precipitated has become buried 

under mechanical sediment."

The Gilbert and Hutchinson hypothesis is that loss 

of salts occurred during the extremes of lake overflow

1
SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

and dessication. The water in the lake is freshened 

during periods of overflow; at the other extreme, 

salts are lost from the dry lakebed by burial under 

aeolian or waterborne sediment or by removal by 

wind. The present investigation explores an enlarged 

hypothesis that each fluctuation in lake level can be an 

agent for wastage of salts, and that there is therefore 

a sort of long-term balance between input and loss of 

salts about which the salt content of the water varies 

in the same way that lake levels vary about a longterm balance between the inflow of water and discharge 

by evaporation. Whether the salts are removed by 

the wind or endure in the lake sediments is not known 

so that only the lake water and its contained salts are 

discussed herein.

In a hydraulic sense, lakes are classified as open or 

closed, depending on whether they have an outlet or 

not. There are two kinds of open lakes drainage 

lakes and seepage lakes (Hutchinson, 1957). Drainage lakes are the usual lakes with stream inflow and 

outflow. Seepage lakes are those where the outflow 

is due to seepage; the input also may be through seepage. Seepage lakes topographically may appear to be 

closed lakes.

This paper deals only with those closed lakes whose 

chief source of inflow is surface water the lake is 

fed by surface streams. All closed lakes are saline 

and their salinity is greater than that of the influent 

water. However, not all saline lakes are closed lakes 

in the sense of this paper. For example, excluded are 

the salt basins described by Meinzer (1911) that are 

wind excavated in the floors of arid valleys. The 

basins are occupied by highly saline water derived 

from saline ground water.

Lakes considered in this report contain relatively 

well-mixed water; that is, there is no marked saline 

stratification. Excluded therefore are meromictic 

lakes which, as defined by Hutchinson (1957, p. 480), 

contain saline water at depth which rsmains unmixed with the main water mass.

Closed lakes that meet these definitions vary in their 

permanence (see fig. 1). Pyramid Lake, for example, 

occupies a deep basin and contains water even during 

rigorous droughts. Great Salt Lake is shallow, and 

its fluctuations in stage and area are relatively great; 

but it is a perennial lake. On the other hand, there are 

many closed lakes, as, for example, Lake Abert in 

Oregon, that are nearly dry on rare occasions, and those, 

like Lake Eyre in Australia, that contain some water 

on rare occasions.

The number of closed lakes in an area increases with 

the impermanence of lakes in the area. Few closed 

lakes are like Pyramid Lake or the Dead Sea. Many 

more are like Lake Abert, whereas playa lakes (or the

10

o

I860

50

LAKE EYRE, 

AUSTRALIA

Q 25

1880 I90O 1920 1940 I960

GREAT SALT LAKE , 

UTAH

o 

I860

400

200

1880 1900 1920 1940 I960

PYRAMID LAKE, 

NEV

I860 1880 1900 1920

FIGTOE 1. Fluctuations In depth of three types of closed lakes.

paradoxical but descriptive term "dry lakes") must be 

counted in the thousands. Lake Eyre, graphed on 

figure 1, is one of the few of this type for which some 

records are available (Bonython, 1955).

Pertinent data assembled for this study are given 

in table 1 for a number of closed lakes.

CLIMATOLOGIC AND HYDROLOGIC FACTORS

The hydrologic imbalance between evaporation and 

input is itself a fascinating aspect of closed lakes. A 

consideration of these factors enables us to speculate 

upon the climatic controls on the existence of closed 

lakes and upon the stability and fluctuation of water 

level, a subject of direct concern to the salt balance.

CLIMATOLOGIC LIMITS FOR CLOSED LAKES

The one universal control on the existence of closed 

lakes is evaporation. Evaporation from lake surfaces 

has been studied extensively and intensively (Harding, 

1935; Harbeck, Kohler, and Koberg, 1958) so that 

close estimates of it can be made quite directly, given 

sufficient pertinent data on temperature, radiation, 

wind, and humidity. Kohler and others (1959) show 

a map of annual evaporation from water surfaces that
CLIMATIC AND HYDROLOGIC FACTORS

40

PARAMETER IS MEAN 

ANNUAL PRECIPITATION

30 40 50 60 70 80 

ANNUAL TEMPERATURE, IN °F

FIGTJEE 2. Relation of annual lake evaporation to annual temperature and annual 

precipitation.

summarizes the variation in the rate of evaporation in 

the United States.

Estimates of evaporation from lakes abroad must be 

made on scant information. The writer hesitates to 

introduce another relation for evaporation to the 

hundred or more that have already been proposed; 

but strange as it may seem, none appears to be in just 

the form needed for estimating evaporation if only 

data on precipitation and temperature are given. 

Hence, available data on lake evaporation in the United 

States (Kohler and others, 1959) have been correlated 

with pertinent data on precipitation and temperature. 

The resulting correlation is graphed on figure 2. Precipitation does not affect evaporation directly, but it 

is an indirect measure of humidity and radiation. In 

continental climates, greater precipitation usually 

means greater humidity and greater cloudiness, each 

a factor that tends to decrease the rate of evaporation. 

Since precipitation is not generally an adequate measure 

of these factors in coastal regions, figure 2 is not intended to apply to such places.

The evaporation rate from saline water is less than 

from fresh water in the same climatic environment. 

The decrease is due to a lowering of the vapor pressure 

of a liquid by the solute. Although the net effect on 

evaporation depends on the relative humidity of the 

atmosphere and on the kind of salt in solution, the 

lowering in rate of evaporation in percent is roughly 

equal to the percentage of salt in solution, under a 

wide range of atmospheric conditions and with the 

salts usually found in natural waters. Thus, the evaporation rate from a solution containing 20 percent by 

weight of salts (200,000 ppm) will approximate 80 per40 50 60 70 80

ANNUAL TEMPERATURE, IN °F 

FIGUKE 3. Net evaporation in terms of temperature and precipitation.

cent of that from fresh water, similarly exposed. The 

effect is important only for lakes with a salinity greater 

than about 50,000 ppm.

Figure 2 shows the gross rate of evaporation from a 

lake. However, the difference between gross evaporation and precipitation on the lake is the factor that 

represents the net rate of removal of water from a 

closed lake. Figure 3, prepared from figure 2, shows 

the values of the net evaporation in terms of the annual 

temperature and precipitation.

Since closed lakes cannot exist where precipitation 

on the lake surface exceeds the gross rate of evaporation, 

the zero line of figure 3 defines the climatologic limit 

of closed lakes. In other words, closed lakes cannot 

exist where the combinations of precipitation and 

temperature lie above the zero line on figure 3. There 

is a further restriction. As pointed out by Eville 

Gorham (written communication, Sept. 1960), annual 

fluctuations in precipitation would cause frequent 

overflow of lakes near this theoretical limit so that such 

lakes would not be saline nor considered closed. Moreover, a closed lake at the theoretical limit cannot have 

any tributary area, otherwise the inflow would cause 

it to overflow. Since all closed lakes have tributary 

drainage areas, no closed lakes can occur near the 

theoretical limit. These two factors restrict the 

occurrence of closed lakes to regions where gross 

evaporation is appreciably in excess of precipitation.
SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

£2

WATER BALANCE AND FLUCTUATIONS IN WATER

LEVEL

The hydrologic factors affecting the water balance 

of a closed lake are simple and well known. In Halley's 

words (1715),

Now I conceive that as all these lakes receive rivers, and 

have no exit or discharge, so it will be necessary that their 

waters rise and cover the land, until such time as their surfaces 

are sufficiently extended, so as to exhale in vapour that water 

which is poured in by the rivers; and consequently that lakes 

must be larger or smaller, according to the quantity of the fresh 

water they receive.

20 so a

PERCENT OF LAKE BASINS

96 99 The balance is expressed by the equation

FIGURE 4. Distribution of ratios of lake areas at overflow level to tributary area.

The easternmost closed lakes in the United States are 

those in North Dakota at the approximate boundary 

of the dry climates as defined by Thornthwaite (1948). 

This boundary runs southward from the eastern part 

of the Dakotas, through the central part of Oklahoma, 

and through central Texas.

The closed lake is dominantly a feature of the arid 

zone. As long ago as 1896, Russell (p. 131-132) 

concluded that "The study of the present geography 

of the earth shows that, hi regions where the mean 

annual precipitation exceeds 20 or perhaps 25 niches, 

inclosed lakes do not occur, although the topographic 

conditions may be favorable." The explanation seems 

to be as follows: The greater the aridity, the greater is 

the rate of net evaporation. The greater the net 

evaporation, the smaller the area of a closed lake. 

The smaller the lake area, the more numerous are the 

topographic opportunities for a closed lake.

Figure 4 shows that the increase in the number of 

closed basins increases as the ratio of the lake area at 

overflow level to tributary area becomes smaller. This 

diagram was constructed by computing the ratios for 

a number of closed basins. These ratios were listed in 

order of magnitude, beginning with the lowest. Order 

numbers were assigned beginning with the lowest as 

number 1, each higher ratio receiving the next higher 

number. The order numbers were transformed into 

percent by the formula 100m/Ar+l where m is the 

order number and N the total number of lakes (11 

in this sample).

In regions where net evaporation is low, the ratio 

of lake area to tributary area is high, decreasing the 

likelihood of closed lakes. The reverse occurs in arid 

regions where net evaporation is high and lake area 

correspondingly small. Thus, one may explain the 

increasing frequency of closed lakes with increasing net 

evaporation, or, in more general terms, with increasing 

aridity.

I+PAL=E'AL

where / is inflow from the tributary area in acre-feet 

per year, P is precipitation on the lake surface in 

feet per year, AL is area of the lake in acres, and Er is 

gross evaporation rate from the lake in feet per year. 

This equation represents a long-term balance about 

which a lake fluctuates. Year-to-year variations in / 

and P produce fluctuations in water level with corresponding variations in surface area. Hence

AIAH=I-(E'-P)AL

-=_ .£, 1 w

or

where E is the so-called net-evaporation rate, the gross 

evaporation minus precipitation on the lake surface. 

Since year-to-year changes in the rate of evaporation 

per unit of lake area are comparatively small, the actual 

change in stage, &H, during a period of time depends 

almost entirely on the volume of inflow per unit of lake 

area. But since lake area depends on the stage or water 

level, the details of change in stage are rather complex. 

The stage of a closed lake at any time represents the 

net sum of all previous inputs and outputs. The 

following analysis illustrates this point quantitatively:

1. Rate of inflow, /.

2. Rate of discharge, Q, to be the net-evaporation rate, E, times the lake area, AL , which, in turn, 

is taken as a linear function of the lake volume, V. 

Thus

(V+6) 

" k

Q=EAL--

where 6 and k are constants for a particular lake. 

The validity of the assumed linear relation between 

lake area and volume is tested on figure 5. The curves 

for Lake Eyre and Great Salt Lake show that the 

relation can be quite irregular. As for the four other 

lakes shown, the area appears to vary between the 0.4
CLIMATIC AND HYDROLOGIC FACTORS

5,000

2,000

LJ 1,000 

tr

500

200

100

50

20

10

100 1,000

VOLUME, IN THOUSANDS OF ACRE- FEET

10,000

TIGUEE 5. Typical relations between surface area and volume of closed lakes.

and the 0.75 power of the volume. However, the 

mathematics to follow become intractable under any 

assumption other than that of a linear relation between 

evaporation and lake volume. Nevertheless, as can be 

shown, a linear equation can fit the variation between 

area and volume over a wide range. It is instructive 

to follow through to a conclusion under this simplifying 

assumption.

A change in lake volume, AV, occurs whenever there 

is a difference between rates of inflow and discharge 

(evaporation). Hence

where subscripts 1 and 2 refer to successive time intervals.

From equation 2 we obtain

k

AV=I-Q (1)

We may also write

F4=

(3)

(4a)

(4b)

in which / is rate of inflow and Q is rate of discharge. 

But

hence, for a unit time,

etc.

Inserting the value of V from equation 3 into equation 4a and for V from equation 4a into 4b, etc., we 

obtain

k '1+k

(5)

If time intervals are sufficiently close,

(2)

Hence, the volume at any time n is a weighted average 

of the inflows during the preceding intervals of time, the 

weights diminishing in geometric ratio with time. Lake
6 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

stages can be computed from lake volumes by use of 

the proper stage-volume curve.

The die-away coefficients depend entirely on the 

value of k, which is the ratio of a change in lake volume 

to the corresponding change in rate of discharge, and 

has the dimension of time. The value of k can, therefore, explain a good deal about the nature of fluctuations in the level of closed lakes. Considering the 

three lakes shown on figure 1, for example, Lake Eyre 

has a value of k of 1.5 years, Great Salt Lake, 9 years, 

and Pyramid Lake, 65 years. A lake with a low value 

of k, near 1 year, is a playa lake. It fills and dries up 

in a year. It responds to the current year's rainfall 

and virtually not at all to that of preceding years. A 

lake with a high value of k, on the other hand, reacts 

slowly, and may be at a high level during a period of 

low rainfall and vice versa. The value of k is the 

response time, in years, of a closed lake, an important 

characteristic. Response times for closed lakes are 

listed in table 1.

Since the lake value is made up of successive proportions of inflows, the standard deviation of the lake 

volumes, <TVJ can be computed from the sum of the 

squares of the standard deviations of the components 

with the following result.

(6)

where at is the standard deviation of the annual inflows. 

The standard deviation of the inflows is equal to the 

coefficient of variation (UT) times the mean flow. The 

coefficient of variation of inflow, in turn, varies regionally. It is greater in arid regions than in humid regions. 

Neglecting local deviations from the general climatic 

pattern, streamflow records show that the coefficient of 

variation is related to the mean annual depth of the 

runoff per unit of drainage area, about as shown on 

figure 6. Taking a straight line approximation on the 

logarithmic chart,

where Ur is the coefficient of variation of r, the annual 

runoff in inches from the tributary area to the lake. 

But

r=12 £4*

where E is net evaporation in feet per year, AL is lake 

area in square miles, and AT is the tributary area in 

square miles. Therefore,

and

(7 (=0.26

Since V=ALD, where D is the mean depth, in feet, it 

follows that

(7)

K)

Equation 7 gives the coefficient of year-to-year 

variation in lake volume, Ut, in terms of readily 

obtainable data. The relative variation in lake area 

can be computed from equation 7 by multiplying the 

righthand side of the equation by the slope of the 

area-volume curve as graphed in figure 5. Thus, the 

coefficient of variation of lake area is

p=z=0.26 E(AT/AL)k 

(2+1/A) '

(8)

where n is the exponent in the relationship AL oc Vn . A 

rough estimate of 0.6 may be taken for those lakes for 

which the value of n is unknown. Since the discharge 

from a closed lake varies with its surface area, the 

value of U corresponds to the coefficient of variation 

of discharge from the lake.

In applying equation 7 or 8, the value of k, in years, 

is defined as

k=E(A"-A'} (9)

where V" refers to a high lake stage and V a low 

stage. The value of k so computed is usually greater 

than the ratio D/E, the excess being greater for shallow 

than for deep lakes.

It is of interest to compare some results of equation 

8 with the direct computation of U for the few closed

p .2

O.I

0.5 1.0 2 5 10 

ANNUAL RUNOFF, IN INCHES

20 50

FIGURE 6. Generalized relation between coefficient of variation of annual runofl 

and average annual runoff.
CLIMATIC AND HYDROLOGIC FACTORS

lakes for which records of fluctuations in lake level are 

available.

Coefficient of variation of

lake area 

By equation 8 From records

Pyramid Lake, Nev_________

Mono Lake, Calif___-_--_--- 

Walker Lake, Nev__________

Great Salt Lake, Utah_____

Lake Corangamite, AustraliaDevils Lake, N. Dak________

Lake Eyre, Australia. _______

0.040

.043

.075

. 125

. 21

. 40

2. 5

0.025

.05

.05

. 15

.30

.6

3. 6

The comparison seems satisfactory and gives some 

confidence that the variability of lake area can be 

computed from available information on areas and 

depths. Computed values are listed in table 1. However, because of the simplifying generalizations made 

in the derivation of equation 8, it is not to be expected 

that equally good checks can be made with all closed 

lakes. Ground-water inflow to a lake can be an important stabilizing factor. The greater the amount 

of ground-water inflow, the smaller the value of U.

HISTORICAL FLUCTUATIONS IN LAKE LEVELS

Existing, as they do, in balance between factors 

of input and output, the fluctuations in water level of 

closed lakes are often viewed as indexes of climatic 

variation. The interpretation of the lake levels 

depends on the value of the response time, k. The 

longer the response time, the greater is the possibility 

that climate and lake levels may be out of phase. 

Even so, in the United States their usefulness as a 

measure of current trends seems ended. As Harding 

(1942) points out, many lakes in the Western United 

States are declining in level owing not so much to 

climate as to the effect of diversion of river water for 

irrigation. For some lakes, the lowering in water 

level seems to be greater than can be explained by the 

combined effect of climate and the measured diversion 

of water. Devils Lake is a noted case (Swenson and 

Colby, 1955). The level of this lake has dropped about 

35 feet in the period from 1867 to 1940. The recession 

appears far greater than can be accounted for either 

on the basis of irrigation, which is negligible, or on the 

basis of a decline in precipitation. Intensive farming 

that began in the 1880's may have reduced the runoff 

to the lake. Also, a rising trend in atmospheric 

temperature may have contributed to the decline in 

lake levels, directly by increasing lake evaporation 

and indirectly by increasing the land evapotranspiration and thereby reducing the runoff from the tributary 

area.

COMPARISON WITH DRAINAGE LAKES

The fluctuations in the level of drainage lakes differ 

considerably from those of closed lakes. The difference

is due largely to the method of discharge. The discharge from closed lakes varies with the surface area. 

The fluctuations in level of drainage lakes are controlled 

by the hydraulics of the outlet.

As previously defined, the response time of a lake is 

the ratio of a change in volume in the lake to the 

corresponding change in the rate of discharge from the 

lake. Thus

(10) ,

where AL is the lake area in square feet, AH is change 

in lake level in feet, and AQ is change in discharge in 

cubic feet per second. For a drainage lake, the ratio 

AH/AQ is the slope of the stage-discharge rating curve 

of the outlet. The rating curve is curvilinear, so its 

slope varies. However, taking the slope at the mean 

discharge, it is found from an analysis of several lakedischarge rating curves that the ratio AH/AQ approximates 0.07/Q0 - 6, where Q is the mean rate of discharge 

in cubic feet per second. Hence, the approximate 

expression for the response time of a drainage lake 

may be written

K \J.\Ji If 007 -fl£,/^/ /4,/D°- 6 (11} \ L *-J

where AL is the lake area in square feet, Q is mean discharge in cubic feet per second, and Hs in seconds; and

£=0.06 (12)

where AL is the lake area in square miles, Q is mean 

discharge in cubic feet per second, and k is in years.

Applying equation 12 to a few unregulated lakes 

(without control works at their outlets), the following 

results are obtained:

Lake Victoria, Africa L____.

Lakes Huron and Michigan __ 

Lake Baikal, U.S.S.R.. ______

Lake Ontario.--------------

Lake Champlain____________

Yellowstone Lake__-_________

Smalley Lake, Ind_-__----__.

Lake area 

(sq mi)

67, 000

45, 000

12, 000

7,520

435

139

. 1

Mean 

discharge 

(cfs)

20, 000

180, 000

100, 000

230, 000

11, 000

1, 300

16

Response 

time 

(years)

4.0

1. 9

.72

. 3

. 10

.085

.0011

1 Before regulating works were installed.

The main point is that drainage lakes and closed 

lakes are of different hydraulic species. Drainage 

lakes have response periods that are much shorter than 

those of closed lakes. Hydraulically, most drainage 

lakes are just "wide places in a river," and their 

fluctuations in level are markedly less than those of 

closed lakes.
8 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

sou 

1-

Ul 

Ul

1

Ul

cr 

o

£ EOO

o

z

:D 

x 100

z

of

Ul

H 

^ 50

u. 

O

Ul

o

9Ci

1899*

1911* 

SEPTEMBER 1956 .

 SEPTEMBER I955/ ' 

DECEMBER 1950 * I923»

MAY I950/ JULY l954 '

/ /

JUNE 19497 / 

 MAY 1948\ /

1948 

DEVILS

LAKE,

1 N.DAK

10

_) 5

0.5 1.0

OCTOBER 1950

FEBRUARY 1951

MAY 1951

DECEMBER, 

1951

LAKE 

EYRE,

AUSTRALIA

2 5 200 500

DISSOLVED SOLIDS, IN MILLIONS OF TONS 

FIGURE 7. Variation of salt content with water volume.

1,000 2,000

SALT CONTENT OF CLOSED LAKES 

LOSS OP SALTS WITH VARIATION IN LAKE LEVEL

Fluctuations in levels of closed lakes have been 

studied because, as indicated in the introduction, these 

fluctuations have a bearing on the salt economy of the 

lakes. The change in amount of salts in solution 

during a single fluctuation in lake level must be small 

indeed, generally too small to be detectable by an 

ordinary sequence of random sampling of water quality. 

For example, assuming long-term balance between loss 

and input, the loss in salts during a lowering in level 

of the order of magnitude that occurs once in 50 years 

would equal a 50-year input to the lake. For most 

lakes, this would be only 1 to 5 percent of the salts in 

solution, too small to be measurable except where 

accurate samplings and lake surveys are available. 

Such data are rare. Nevertheless, some evidence is 

available for two lakes that have fluctuated considerably in lake level: Devils Lake (Swenson and Colby, 

1955) in North Dakota, and Lake Eyre (Bonython, 

1955) in South Australia.

LAKE DATA

Figure 7 shows the variation in salt content with 

lake volume for Devils Lake. This lake receded 

steadily after 1899, when the water was first sampled, 

reaching a low stage in 1948 when a series of intensive 

samplings was begun. During this 49-year period, 

according to a table published by Swenson and Colby 

(1955, p. 61), the weight of dissolved solids decreased 

by two-thirds. The salt tonnage 1 remained substan,-

' Salt tonnage is the product of the factor 0.00135, the lake volume in acre-feet, the 

concentration in parts per million by weight, and the density.

tially constant during the increase in lake volume from 

1948 to 1950. Seemingly, it would take a state of 

hydrologic equilibrium for a great number of years to 

restore the tonnage to the amount in the lake in 1899.

Lake Eyre, a large Australian playa, received water 

in 1950 that covered an area of 3,100 square miles. 

By the end of 1952 the lake was dry. Calculations by 

C. W. Bonython (1955, p. 66) based on samples collected during the receding phase showed that tonnage 

increased slightly after the first observation in October 

1950, presumably reflecting the continuing solution of 

lakebed saline deposits, and reached a maximum in 

February 1951. Thereafter, as shown in figure 7, the 

tonnage in solution apparently decreased markedly as 

the lake continued to shrink. Bonython points out 

that his calculations are based on salinity measured at 

only one place on the shore of an extensive shallow lake 

and that his results may not be accurate. Although 

he regards as accurate only the tonnage figure for 

December 1951, when the lake covered a relatively 

small area, the figure may be sufficiently representative 

to suggest the pattern of variation in tonnage with lake 

volume.

These two examples, the first of a perennial lake and 

the second of a playa, show a marked decrease in the 

amount of salt in solution during contractions in lake 

volume. There is evidence, admittedly fragmentary, 

that the variation of salinity with lake volume is not 

directly a simple matter of concentration or dilution 

of a fixed mass of salts in a changing volume of lake 

water. The mass of salts in solution appears to decrease with contraction in lake volume. Although the
SALT CONTENT OF CLOSED LAKES 9

LAKE-VOLUME 

HYDROGRAPH

YEARS

SALT-VOLUME

CYCLE

SALT MASS IN SOLUTION

FIGURE 8. Schematic variation of salt tonnage In solution with fluctuations In lake volume.

 _ mass in solution may again increase with a recovery in 

lake volume, the total mass may be less than before 

the recession began. Completion of the cycle is 

accomplished during the slow accumulation of salts 

carried in solution by the influent streamflow.

A SCHEMATIC CYCLE

On the assumption that the loss of salts is linked to 

fluctuations in lake level, one may follow through to a 

schematic description of the variation of the salt content of a closed lake. The top diagram of figure 8 

represents a generalized pattern of fluctuations in lake 

volume produced by the year-to-year variations in 

inflow. The lower diagram suggests an exaggerated 

pattern of variations in the amount of salt in solution 

as the lake fluctuates in volume.

During the receding phase, A-B, there is postulated 

a net loss of salts from solution. The annual input of 

salts is insufficient to counterbalance the loss of salts 

as the lake recedes.

The limb B-C of the schematic cycle pictured on 

figure 8 represents a period of relatively stable low level 

of a lake during which time input of salts exceeds the 

losses.

The rising phase, C-D, represents a relatively stable 

tonnage of salts hi solution, if the rise is rapid, or perhaps an increasing tonnage if the rise is prolonged. 

Increases in lake volume may be more rapid than decreases, because the latter are limited by the annual 

rate of evaporation from the lake surface.

The limb D-A represents a stable high-level phase 

of a lake during which the annual input of salts exceeds 

the losses.

No records are available to demonstrate this idealized 

cycle in full. The salt-tonnage graph for Devils Lake 

on figure 7 illustrates a receding phase A-B and a 

rising phase C-D. Stable limb B-C is absent. The 

graph for Lake Eyre in figure 7 is entirely during the 

receding phase A-B.

There are no data to illustrate that part of the schematic cycle that shows an increase in the amount of 

salt during a long period of relatively stable lake stages.

The actual volume-tonnage curves over a long period 

of tune may never describe the idealized cycle diagrammed on figure 8, but may consist of a series of 

zigzag curves of which each part is related to one of 

the limbs of the hypothetic cycle.

Figure 9 illustrates a suggested pattern of fluctuations hi the salt content of a play a. In its usual dry 

state, the lowest part of the playa contains a salt crust 

that generally thickens toward the central lowest point 

of the lake bed. The upper edge of the salt crust 

marks the "salting" level, that level where the dominant salts in the shrinking lake reach saturation. As 

the lake continues to shrink, salts are precipitated, so 

that as at Lake Eyre the thickness of the salt crust is 

about 25 percent of the depth of the water at the 

salting level. As Bonython (1956) points out, however, local rains may dissolve and carry salts from the 

upper edges of the salt crust to the lower parts where 

the salts are reprecipitated. The valley sediments increase in fineness toward the center of the playa, and 

the sediment under the salt crust is usually a finegrained mud which, hi turn, may overlie deeper salt 

crusts, as diagrammed on figure 9. Salt crystals grow 

in the mother liquor in the mud, often forming crystals 

of "textbook" perfection.

Following a storm sufficiently heavy to cause runoff, 

water enters the playa and the salt crust begins to dissolve. Although the concentration reaches its maximum at the salting level, due to the rapidity of the storm 

inflow, the whole of the crust may not be dissolved 

until the water stands at some height and for some tune 

above the salting level (see fig. 9 B and C]. As the lake 

rises beyond the salting point, the concentration 

decreases but the amount hi solution increases, and, 

indeed, as depicted in figure 9(7, the salt crust may not 

be entirely dissolved until the lake has begun to recede. 

This is the point of maximum salt content. Gradually, 

the amount in solution decreases as the shoreline dries. 

But loss of salts is not sufficient to retard the increase 

hi concentration with decreasing lake volume. The 

concentration reaches saturation at the salting level 

when the lake is saturated with respect to the dominant
10 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

EFFLORESCENT 

SALT ~\

SALT 

CRUSTS

CARBONACEOUS 

SALT AND CLAY

SECTION THROUGH PLAYA

CONCENTRATION SALT MASS IN SOLUTION

FIGTJBE 9. Salt regime of a playa.

salts in the solution. Concentration thereafter remains 

essentially constant; as the volume of water shrinks, 

dissolved salts are precipitated, and the lake returns to 

its usual dry state. In this idealized example, the 

amount of salt in the crust remains as before; over a 

period of years, the salt added by inflow equals the loss 

on evaporation to dryness.

MECHANISMS FOB THE LOSS OF SALTS

The possible mechanisms that cause a decrease in 

dissolved salts during fluctuations in lake volume must, 

in the absence of direct evidence, remain somewhat 

conjectural. A recession in lake level leaves water 

in marginal bays separated from the main body of 

water. The entrapped water in the bordering alluvium, 

or in puddles, dries and the dissolved salts are precipitated. Deposited salts that effloresce are subject 

to wind transport. Or, as Grabau (1920, p. 175) 

points out, surficial salt deposits that are hygroscopic 

readily become powdered over with dust. Grabau 

adds that a surface dust layer, even if only of slight 

thickness, will prevent the underlying salt from dissolving when the lake level rises.

As mentioned in the previous section, the beds of 

closed lakes consist of clastic sediments and a large 

proportion of carbonates precipitated from the solution. 

Soluble salts trapped in the muds are insulated from

re-solution and there may also be a downward migration of ions in the bottom sediments from places of high 

concentration to places of low concentration. Thus, 

the lake sediments may contain not only precipitated 

carbonates, but some more soluble constituents as well.

Wind must be a major agent for the loss of salts from 

a closed lake. Most travelers in the arid regions have 

observed dust clouds whipped up by the wind from the 

fine sediments and salts in playa bottoms. L. B. 

Laird, chemist, U.S. Geological Survey, reports observations of clouds of "soda dust" being blown from the 

dry parts of the bed of Summer Lake in Oregon, 

(written communication). Feth and others (1960) 

report that snow in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah is 

more mineralized that that in the Sierra Nevada in 

California. Every indication, including maximum 

values for various constituents, is that the air masses 

producing snow in the Wasatch Mountains accumulate 

appreciable amounts of mineral particles while passing 

over the arid lands of the Great Basin. Despite this 

direct evidence to substantiate the reality of wind 

action, data are lacking on its quantitative importance 

as an agent in the salt balance of closed lakes.

Wind may also be an agent for the loss of salts by the 

removal of small droplets of water (called aerosols) 

with dissolved salt from the surface of the lake. The 

small particles of water are carried aloft and evaporate
SALT CONTENT OF CLOSED LAKES 11

in the air, and the fine participate salt remaining may 

then be transported by wind for considerable distances 

and may constitute nuclei for cloud formation. Thus 

entrained in subsequent precipitation, the salt returns 

to the earth.

It has been argued by many and for many years (for 

example, see Ackroyd, 1904) that the chloride of river 

waters is derived principally from rainfall, which 

carries the salt that originated from the oceans. The 

rough order of magnitude of removal of salts from the 

oceans by wind may be estimated if one is permitted 

the liberty of several broad assumptions. The first of 

these suppositions is that the salt (Cl~-f Na+) balance 

of the oceans is maintained by the above means; that 

is, the net removal of these ions from the oceans in 

aerosols is equal to the input by the rivers. The 

annual input of chloride ions to the oceans from the 

continents, according to data given by Clarke (1924), 

is about 1.1X108 tons. Taken together with the 

equivalent sodium, the input of sodium chloride is 

about 58/35X1.1X108 tons per year, or 1.8X108 tons 

per year.

According to the cyclic hypothesis, this input would 

be derived from fallout of ocean-produced aerosols. 

However, this quantity would represent only that part 

of the airborne salt that is carried over and deposited 

on the continents. Compounding the suppositions 

with the assumption that twice as much salt is deposited 

per unit area on the ocean as on the land, the total 

amount of ocean salts carried in aerosols becomes 

about 1 X 109 tons per year, or 7.5 tons per year per 

square mile, of which a fourth is deposited on the 

continents to be returned to the oceans by streams, 

and three-fourths directly on the oceans. A further 

assumption that the removal of salts in aerosols is 

directly proportional to the concentration yields a 

factor of 2.1 X 10~4 tons per square mile per year per 

part per million of concentration, or about 1/300 inch 

of ocean water per year. This quantity does not 

differ significantly from an estimate by Erickson (1958) 

who assumes that production of airborne particles of 

sea salt varies with latitude and with the transport of 

water vapor from the sea surface; that is, with the 

evaporation. He suggests that annual production of 

sea-salt particles increases from near 0 at the poles to 

about 4,500 mg per square meter at lat. 20° N. and S., 

or a mean of 2,800 mg of salt per square meter. This 

figure is equivalent to 1/300 inch of water containing 

36,000 ppm of salt in solution.

Applying this depth of 1/300 inch of water per year 

to some salt lakes gives rates of transport from the lakes 

that appear far short of those necessary to balance the 

river-carried input of salts. For Great Salt Lake, using 

a concentration of 200,000 ppm and an area of 1,800

square miles, an annual removal of 75,000 tons is 

obtained. Applied to the Caspian Sea, the largest of the 

closed lakes, and using an areal mean concentration of 

12,000 ppm, an annual removal of 300,000 tons is 

calculated. Both of these results appear much smaller 

than the input of salts to the lakes.

This extrapolation from the oceans to closed lakes 

may be inappropriate because of the great disparity 

in area and depth. Further, the smaller area and 

shorter wind sweep would lead to lesser wave action 

and hence reduce the production of aerosols from lakes.

Moreover, geometrical considerations strongly suggest that although areal influences may be dominant 

for the ocean, marginal or peripheral influences would 

be dominant for closed lakes. The losses of salts in 

aerosols occur from the lake surface, but the effects of 

fluctuations in lake level on the loss of salts operate 

around the periphery of a lake. The relative importance 

between areal and peripheral influences would tend 

to change with the square root of the area. The 

ratio of area hi square miles to periphery in miles for 

the ocean is of the order of 600 to 1. For a small lake 

the ratio is reversed and of the order of 1 to 5.

Still another reason for discounting the influence of 

the loss of salts in aerosols from closed lakes is that this 

action is continuous, whereas the evidence seems to 

indicate that the loss of salts from lakes is associated 

with fluctuations in lake level.

EFFECT OF CHANGES IN LAKE VOLUME ON 

COMPOSITION

Closed lakes retain in solution the more soluble of the 

salts brought to it by the influent river water, while the 

less soluble salts, such as calcium and magnesium 

carbonates, are precipitated. The precipitates form 

much of the mud deposits on the lakebeds. Blinov 

(1956, p. 87), for example, reports that the gray mud 

in the bottom of the Aral Sea is composed of 69 percent 

calcium carbonate, primarily of chemogenic origin. 

Calcitic and dolomitic precipitates account for a large 

pait of the more or less permanent losses from the lake 

solution as they do not easily reenter the solution. 

The remaining constituents form a lake solution of 

generally stable composition. Although river waters 

are considerably altered in composition by the ready 

precipitation of the less soluble salts, the present data 

indicate that the chemical composition of lake solutions 

varies but slightly with changes in lake volume. For 

example, the water volume of Devils Lake decreased 

by 90 percent during the period 1899 to 1948 and the 

concentration of salts increased threefold. The total 

amount of salt in solution decreased by 67 percent, 

yet the composition remained essentially uniform. 

The same was observed during the recession in water
12 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

300,000

250,000

d 200,000 -

oc 

UJ

o. 

en 

OC 150,000

 100,000

50,000

NdCI

POINTS REPRESENT GROUP: 

AVERAGES OF DATA FOR 

CLOSED LAKES PUBLISHED: 

BY CLARKE (1924) :

\

THE OCEANS

20 40 60

CHLORIDE,IN PERCENT

80

FIGUKE 10. Generalized graph showing variation In chloride with salinity.

level of Lake Eyre in 1950-52. The deposition of 

salts seems to affect all constituents alike. Therefore, 

the observation follows that the loss of salts results 

from complete evaporation, for otherwise there would 

have been a relative change in composition of the 

remaining water through fractional precipitation.

PERCENTAGE OF CHLORIDE IONS

Although the composition of a given lake may be 

stable, the composition among different lakes is variable. 

To demonstrate these differences, the data on total 

salinity of closed lakes assembled by Clarke (1924) 

were classified according to percentage of chloride 

and salinity. Group averages were computed and the 

results plotted on figure 10.

The line on figure 10 begins with a point representing 

river water (5.7 percent chloride, 150 ppm average 

salinity; after Clarke, 1924, p. 119). Among different 

lakes, the greater the salinity, the greater the percentage 

of chloride. With concentration of salts in closed 

lakes, those less soluble, such as the carbonates, tend to 

precipitate, increasing the relative fraction of chloride 

salts which tend to remain in solution. The band on 

figure 10 gives a qualitative indication of the decreasing 

variability in the percentage of chloride with increasing

total salinity. River waters are most variable in this 

respect, highly concentrated lakes are least variable. 

However, the point for the oceans on figure 10 shows a 

higher percentage of chloride than lakes of corresponding salinity. The generalized relationship on figure 10 

appears to express the intensity of the selective precipitation of salts in favor of the chlorides.

APPLICATION OF LAKE DATA

SALINITY IN RELATION TO HYDROLOGIC 

PROPERTIES

If wastage of salts occurs, then there is a means 

whereby a lake can acquire a kind of stability between 

input and output of salts.

In reviewing the salt budget of Lake Eyre, Bonython 

(1956, p. 89) reaches a similar conclusion:

The theory here presented of the occurrence of the salt 

deposits in Lake Eyre is one in which a stream of what is principally airborne and surface waterborne oceanic salts constantly 

enters the lake, and another stream, of different composition 

to the first, constantly escapes from it, while in the lake itself 

lies a certain 'stock' of salts reflecting the equilibrium between 

the two streams. The composition of the stock is likely to 

have little resemblance to those of the incoming and outgoing 

streams as regards the proportions of the specific constituents, 

although the same constituents in greatly differing proportions 

are likely to be found in all three.

To verify the theory in the absence of direct observations on the input and output of salts requires at least 

a consistent relation between the salt content of closed 

lakes, their hydrographic properties, and their hydrologic environment. For this purpose, data on 25 

closed lakes have been assembled from diverse sources. 

The data are listed in table 1. The entries are explained in notes that follow the table.

The hydrographic and hydrologic character of closed 

lakes can be described by four parameters: the ratio 

of annual net evaporation, E, to mean depth, D, or 

E/D; the coefficient of variation of discharge from the 

lake, U; the geometric shape as expressed by the ratio 

of the square root of the surface area, AL, to mean 

depth, D, or 4A^jD; and the volume, V0 , required 

to fill the lake basin to the overflow level.

The hydrologic balance is a direct factor in the 

salinity of a closed lake. This balance is determined 

by the ratio of lake area to tributary area, which, in 

turn, determines the relative proportions of supply of 

relatively dilute rainwater to the more highly saline 

river water. Moreover, the greater this ratio, the 

greater is the volume of the lake for dilution of the 

salt input. The net effect can be expressed by the 

ratio of the annual salt input to the lake volume. 

Thus

AJ)
APPLICATION OF LAKE DATA 13

where c is the concentration of salts in the runoff, 

r; cp is the concentration of salts in the precipitation, 

P; and the other terms are as before. But at hydrologic 

equilibrium rAT=EAL, hence the above ratio becomes

D

and if CpP be taken as negligible compared to cE, then 

the overall effect is expressed by the simple ratio

cE/D.

The ratio E/D is the ratio of the annual removal of 

water vapor from the lake surface to the mean lake 

depth, and thus may be viewed as a measure of the 

annual rate of increase in salinity.

The coefficient of variation of lake area, U, is related 

to the annual rate of loss of the salts, which for equilibrium balances the annual rate of increase in salinity by 

evaporation.

The geometric-shape factor describes the relative 

depth of the lake: a high value of the ratio *[ALl~D is 

indicative of a saucer-shaped lake, a low value indicates 

a deep lake.

Thus the salinity, C, can be tentatively expressed as

The ratio E/D is directly related to the salinity, 

whereas the variability, U, has a reciprocal relationship. However, the influence of the shape factor is 

less clear and is shown to a power x, which probably is 

less than unity but must be evaluated.

Evaluation of this equation using the data listed in 

table 1 gives

(13)

where E and D are in feet and AL is in square feet.

The constant 180 represents a median concentration 

of lake constituents in river water in parts per million, 

as obtained from the Geological Survey annual reports 

on "Quality of Surface Waters for Irrigation, Western 

United States." As a basis for these computations, 

"lake constituents" in river waters were defined by the 

following arbitrary procedure.

Carbonate (as reported in equivalents per million) 

is first linked with calcium and magnesium, in that 

order. Any excess of the alkaline earths is combined 

with sulfate. Remaining sulfate is paired with sodium 

(plus potassium), and then excess sodium is linked to 

the chloride. So computed, the combinations of the

No

Co

\\\\\x\\\\\ 

\\\\\\\\\\\

.0004

.00005

.3 u

.006

OOsXVsXxVsX

1 \3 $

* 1

^ \.5 ^ 

^vXXXXXXN^

CO- so, Cl

FIGURE 11. Relative solubilities of salts in distilled water. (NaCl=1.0 

at 50° F.)

alkaline earths with carbonate and of calcium with 

sulfate are considered insoluble, as compared with the 

solubility of the remaining combinations. To illustrate the sharp contrast, compare the relative solubilities as indicated on the diagram of figure 11. There 

is more than a 100 to 1 contrast in the solubilities of 

compounds inside and outside of the shaded zone. 

Therefore all pairs within the shaded zone are considered 

"lake constituents."

As applied to the composition of water of rivers hi the 

Western United States, the region where closed lakes 

occur, these calculations give a wide range of results, 

varying sharply with the aridity and lithology of the 

terrain with a median value of 180 ppm.

Equation 13 is easier to apply if modified so that lake 

area is in square miles:

r-^ooo 6-55,000 (13a)

where C is in parts per million by weight, E and D are 

hi feet, and AL is in square miles.

The results can be improved further by including a 

factor representing the long-term stability of the closed 

lake. A closed lake ceases to exist when it dessicates, 

and it is no longer a closed lake when it overflows. 

The shallower the lake, the greater the probability of 

its dessication. On the other hand, the deeper the lake, 

the greater is the probability of its overflow. The 

greater distance a lake lies below its overflow run, the 

less the probability of its freshening by overflow. 

Although none of these probabilities can be determined, 

the long-term stability of a closed lake hi a given basin

602791 O -61 -Z
14 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

Z 200,000 

O

_J

100,000 

cr

LU 

Q_

(n 

CH 50,000

Q.

Z

- 20,000

S 10,000

ID 

Q_

5 

0 5,000

2,000 

2,0

 

 

 "/

 X

*

(

y

1

.// _

 

00 5,000 10,000 20,000 50,000 100,000 200,000 500,000 

OBSERVED SALINITY, IN PARTS PER MILLION

FIGURE 12. Comparison between observed and computed salinity of closed lakes.

can be estimated in respect to its mean depth and to the tures of salinities as computed by equation 13a from 

overflow volume as follows: the observed salinities. These departures indicated

that the effect varies as follows:

=P (14)

where D is the mean lake depth in feet, V0 is the volume 

above the lake to the level of overflow in cubic feet, and 

AT is the tributary drainage area in square feet. Values 

of V0/AT as well as D are given in table 1. For any given 

closed basin, the value of the above function is 0 where 

either D or V0 is 0. In the first case there would be no 

lake, in the second the lake would be fresh. For any 

given basin the function reaches a maximum where the 

lake occupies somewhat more than half the volume of 

the closed basin below the level of overflow.

The effect of the function represented by P upon lake 

salinity was determined by investigation of the depar0.55P1/6 10P/100=B7. (14a) 

The final formula for salinity therefore becomes

0=55,000 (15)

where C is in parts per million by weight, E and D are 

in feet, AL in square miles, and P is the product defined 

by equation 14 where both D and V0 /AT are in feet. A 

comparison between computed and observed salinities 

is plotted on figure 12. The coefficient of correlation 

is about 0.9 -f.

The correlation shown on figure 12 appears sufficient 

to justify the reasoning to this point. The results were 

obtained without any data on influent salts or reference 

to the composition of the lake solution.
APPLICATION OF LAKE DATA 15

-2

200 400 60O 8OO 

CONCENTRATION, IN PARTS PER MILLION

I.OOO

FIGUKE 13. Generalized association between concentration of dissolved matter in 

river water and regional net evaporation.

The scatter of points on figure 12 may be due in part 

to (1) inadequacies of the theory advanced in this 

paper, and (2) to necessary generalized assumptions 

made in the absence of specific data such as the lack of 

information on salinity of the inflow to the lakes, lack 

of records of fluctuations in lake levels, and, for most of 

the lakes, the lack of concurrent data on depths, area, 

and salinities.

Despite its seeming conformance with many of the 

lakes for which scant and often haphazard data are 

available, equation 15 should not be interpreted as 

explaining the salinity of any particular lake, owing to 

the chain of assumptions introduced into its derivation. 

The equation is intended only to express the possible 

effects of the hydrologic factors contained in that 

formula upon the salinity of closed lakes in general. 

Imperfections of the theory as well as other influences 

may dominate in any particular situation.

In this analysis no direct consideration has been given 

to the concentration of lake constituents in the influent 

water, despite the obvious influence of the salinity of 

the inflow on the concentration of salts in the lake. That 

the lake salinities seemingly can be explained even with 

this omission might be ascribed to the fact that the salinity of the influent water is itself related to the climatic environment and thus indirectly taken into account in the correlation expressed by equation 15. It 

is well known, for example, that the concentration of 

dissolved matter in river waters varies in a general way 

with the aridity of the tributary basin. Net evaporation 

is a measure of aridity. Figure 13, based on records of 

chemical quality, shows the association between concentration and net evaporation. Equation 14 therefore 

reflects the concentration of salts in river waters to the 

extent that the concentration is associated with net

evaporation as a measure of the climatic environment. 

. There are, of course, large variations due to other factors, among which the kind of rocks that compose the 

tributary basin is most important. The effects of such 

local variations on the salinity of river waters are, in 

turn, masked by the imperfections of the theory here 

advanced, except where such variations are very great. 

The River Jordan, the main affluent of the Dead Sea, 

for example, has a chloride content far above that normal for its climatic environment, because it cuts through 

deep and extensive salt deposits. The salinity of the 

Dead Sea greatly exceeds that indicated by equation 15. 

In the absence of data on the salinity of river waters that 

feed closed lakes, nothing beyond generalized concepts 

can be included in equation 15, which, as explained, contains factors that take into account the variation in 

salinity with the climatic factors.

Upstream lakes also tend to increase the concentration of salts in water that feeds saline lakes that occupy 

the lowest part of closed basins. The increase in concentration is proportional to the ratio of the net evaporation from the upstream lake to that from the closed 

lake. For example, the net evaporation (gross evaporation minus precipitation) from Lake Tiberias, about 

70 miles upstream from the Dead Sea, averages about 

220,000 acre-feet per year, or about 18 percent of that 

from the Dead Sea. Although no adjustment for this 

percentage increase in salinity has been made in the calculations, it illustrates another of the many factors that 

may influence the salinity of a closed lake in addition 

to those contained in equation 15.

So far as is known, rivers are the dominant source of 

water for the lakes listed in table 1. But ground-water 

inflow is doubtless present to some degree in all closed 

lakes. The salinity of ground water is apt to be higher 

than that of river water, a fact that is not taken directly 

into account by equation 14. Since inflow from ground 

water fluctuates in annual volume to a lesser degree than 

river flow, lakes fed in significant part by ground water 

should have relatively stable water levels, making the 

value of U less. According to equation 14, the lower 

value of U would be reflected in a higher value for the 

concentration of lake water. Thus, in indirect ways, 

the equation makes some allowance for the difference in 

the salinity of the water influent to the lakes. This allowance must, however, be deemed imperfect and only 

justified by the absence of adequate data upon which to 

base a better theory.

TIME FOR ACCUMULATION OF SALTS

As already made clear, the salt content of a closed 

lake is no guide to its age. It has also been suggested 

that the calculation of the age as the quotient of the 

mass of salts (or of one or more of the ions in solution)
16 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

divided by the annual input usually leads to a figure 

that is far short of a reasonable time since the time 

when the lake last overflowed. It would be instructive 

to derive several such figures were data on salt input 

more readily available. But such data are still among 

the rarities of hydrologic statistics, for there appears 

to be little economic interest in salt transport at the 

mouths of rivers debouching into salt lakes. Some 

recent investigations of closed lakes will doubtless 

produce significant data. In the meantime, some of 

the theory presented in this report can be applied to 

the calculation of the period of years, T, represented 

by the total dissolved salts content of a salt lake, although it must be repeated that this figure does not 

represent the age of the lake. Thus

(16) cEA

where CDAL represents the tonnage in solution and 

cEAL the annual tonnage input of those constituents 

in the lake solution. The input concentration, c, is 

usually unknown, but it can be estimated by writing 

equation 14 in the form

DU D

where the concentration of lake constituents in the 

influent waters is written in lieu of the constant. Substituting the value of c defined by equation 17 into 

equation 16,

where AL is in square feet and D in feet. Lake area, 

AL, and mean depth, _Z>, are to be taken at some high 

lake level, whereas AL is the average area over a 

period of years.

Equation 18 yields the following results for some 

representative closed lakes.

T (years) 

Devils Lake. ______________________________________ 800

Great Salt Lake. --____-_______.--__-.____.________ 6, 500

Pyramid Lake__________ ___________________________ 1, 400

Walker Lake- -_---_-_____-___-_-_____-____________ 900

Owens Lake _ _-_-_---_-___--_______________,_____ 1, 700

Lake Abert_ -__-___---_-_-_-_-________-___________ 500

Lake Eyre. _______________________________________ 5, 500

Caspian Sea___ _____________________________________ 20, 000

Dead Sea_ __..___..__.________ . __________________ 30, 000

Lake Van _ ______________________________________ 17, 000

There are few checks available that can be based on 

accurate figures of salt input, but some rough comparisons may be made. On the basis of nine samples 

of inflow to Devils Lake, as reported by Swenson and 

Colby (1955), the concentration of lake constituents in 

the influent waters is about 96 ppm. Using this figure 

in equation 16 yields a time period for the accumulation of the salts in solution of 2,200 years. Using the 

concentrations of sulfate, the dominant ion in the lake, 

the result is 2,100 years. In both cases, the result is 

nearly three times that computed above from equation 18.

Eardley and others (1957) computed the mass of 

salt (NaCl+Na2SO4 ) dissolved in Great Salt Lake and 

contiguous salt crusts at 5.9X10 9 tons. They also 

calculated the salt input to the lake as 1.1X10 6 tons 

per year, giving an accumulation time of 5,300 years, 

compared with 6,500 years as obtained from equation 18.

Some other rough comparisons with previous estimates can be made. Jones (1925, p. 31) calculated 

that the chloride content of Pyramid Lake could have 

accumulated in less than 4,000 years, a statement that 

is consistent with the 1,400 years derived by formula 

18. Kussell (1885, p. 226) estimated that the salt in 

Walker Lake accumulated in less than 500 years; the 

above estimate is 900 years.

Gale (1915, p. 264) concluded that the length of 

time taken to accumulate the mass of salts in Owens 

Lake "is in very general terms about 4,000 years, or 

possibly considerably less." Equation 18 gives 1,700 

years as the accumulation time.

Van Winkle (1914, p. 123) computed that the salt 

contained in Lake Abert represents an accumulation 

time of 4,000 years, which Matthes (1942, p. 211) used 

to substantiate the estimated date as the beginning of 

the present "little ice age" a moist, cool period when 

the lakes reformed after a long period of dessication. 

However, Van Winkle's calculations appear defective. 

A recomputation based on his data gives a period of 

about 2,000 years. The computed time would be even 

shorter if salinity records on Chewaucan Kiver, the 

principal affluent, were available closer to the lake than 

20 miles upstream at Paisley, Oreg., where Van Winkle's 

records were obtained. Field measurements of electrical conductivity in May 1959 indicated that there is 

a substantial increase in salt load between Paisley and 

the lake. The short period represented by the salt 

content of Lake Abert (500 years as computed from
HYDROLOGIC VA.TA, 17

equation 18) does not necessarily affect the date of the 

onset of the "little ice age" and the rejuvenation of 

the lake, but it does greatly affect the interpretation of 

the significance of the salt content of lakes in relation 

to their history.

Chilingar (1959), in a review of a Russian symposium 

on the formation of sediments in recent basins, reports 

an interesting calculation of the "age" of the Caspian 

Sea. On the theory that the Caspian Sea is a relict 

from the ocean, the time is computed for the influent 

river water to alter the ionic composition from that of 

the ocean to that of the contemporary lake. Using the 

ratio of chloride to sulfate, the "age of isolation" is 

computed as 10,600 years; using the chloride to magnesium ratio and the chloride to calcium ratio, the time 

period is 13,700 years. Both of these results are somewhat less than the time computed by equation 18, but 

since the theories are at variance with one another, 

correspondence may lack physical significance. However, sufficient data are available to compute the time 

period represented by sulfate ion which appears as a 

larger fraction of the salts dissolved in the Caspian Sea 

than in the ocean. Data indicate that the lake content 

of sulfate ions (including the Karabogaz Gulf) is about 

240X10° metric tons and the annual input is about 

18,2 X106 metric tons. According to these figures, the 

time for accumulation of the salts in solution is 13,000 

years, compared with 20,000 years obtained by equation 18.

HYDROLOGIC DATA

The lakes listed in table 1 are presumed to be closed 

basins that is, there is no liquid discharge in surface 

streams or by seepage. Because all occupy topographic

sinks, it is assumed that the ground-water gradient is 

toward the lake.

Except for Devils Lake, Great Salt Lake, Owens 

Lake, Lake Eyre, and Lake Corangamite, for which 

survey results and frequent samplings were available, 

the data in table 1 have been obtained from diverse 

sources. The salinity data are generally from Clark 

(1924) who, however, gives no other hydrologic data. 

Therefore, information on areas, depths, and drainage 

areas was obtained from another source and may not 

correspond to the salinity data. For the deeper lakes, 

the changes in salinity with time are slow, but for the 

shallow lakes, the lack of correspondence of estimates 

or measurements of depth and lake area with the observation of salinity can introduce serious error. Concentrations of salt in the lake water at a low stage of a 

shallow lake can be much higher than at a high stage of 

the lake. Water temperature is another unknown 

factor.

Except as noted, salinity is reported in parts per 

million; that is, in milligrams per kilogram of solution. 

Salinity in milligrams of dissolved matter per liter of 

solution can be approximated from the following 

formula:

mg per liter=ppm (1+0.8 ppm/10~6)

The coefficient of 0.8 is based on a comparison of salinities reported in milligrams per liter and in parts per 

million.

The values of the coefficient of variation of lake area 

are computed from equation 8, except as indicated in the 

notes to table 1.
18 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES 

TABLE 1. Hydrologic data for dosed lakes

Lake

Devils Lake, N. Dak_ __ ____

Quill Lakes, Saskatchewan _

Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan.. 

Great Salt Lake, Utah

Sevier Lake, Utah_ _ _ _ _

Pyramid Lake, Nev_ ___

Walker Lake, Nev_ _____

Mono Lake, Calif _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Elsinore Lake, Calif _ __ __ _

Owens Lake, Calif, _

Omak Lake, Wash __

Lake Abert, Oreg __ __ _______

Summer Lake, Oreg_ ___ ___

Harney Lake, Oreg_ _ __ _

Lake Eyre, Australia. _

Lake Corangamite, Australia. __ 

Aral Sea, U.S.S.R___. _________

Caspian Sea, Asia__ __ ___ _

Dead Sea, Palestine. _ . _ _ _

Lake of Urmia, Iran

Lake Van, Turkey ._ ___ ___.

Tuz Golu, Turkey ... __ .....

Elton Lake, U.S.S.R.. __.___.__

Baskuntschak Lake, U.S.S.R___

Drainage 

area 

(sq. mi.)

3,000

105 

2,700 

120 

21, 000

16, 000 

2,650 

3,500 

600 

717 

2,900

100 

900

330

5,300 

550, 000

1, 300

625, 000 

1, 400, 000 

12, 000 

20, 000 

6,000 

4,400

Evaporation 

(ft per year)

Gross

2.5

2.25 

2.0 

2.25 

3. 3

3.7 

4.2 

4.2 

4. 1 

4.5 

5.5

3.2 

3.5

3.5

3.3 

7.5

4.0

3.0 

3. 3 

5.1 

3.0 

3. 3 

3. 4

Net

1.2

1.0 

.75 

1.0

2.7

3.2 

3.7 

3.8 

3.3 

3.2 

5.0

2. 2 

2.5

2.5

2. 5 

7.0

2.0

2.6 

2. 8 

4.8 

2.5 

2.0 

2. 4 

3.0 

3.0

Coefficient of 

variation 

of lake 

area

0. 40

.07 

.15 

.038 

. 125

.35

.04 

.075 

.043 

.68 

. 10

.067 

. 5

1.0

.8 

2.5

. 30

.10 

.015 

.03 

. 11 

.02 

.5 

1.0 

2.0

Response 

time 

(years)

14

25 

20 

50 

9

3 

65 

45 

35 

3.0 

10

30 

6

2

2 

1.5

10

35 

300 

40 

9 

150 

1 

1.0 

. 5

Overflow

expressed 

as depth 

over tributary area 

(feet)

2.5

1.0

4 

9 

13 

200 

.3 

12

19 

11

61

1.0 

10

3.8

10 

22 

175

53

86

Salinity

Date

1899 

1923 

1948 

1952 

1938-41 

1938-41 

1938-41 

1877 

1932 

1872 

1882 

1882 

1882 

1949 

1876 

1905

0) 

1902 

1912 

1956-59 

1901 

1912 

1912 

1950 

1951 

1933 

1950 

1956

1944 

1959

Ppm

8,470 

15, 210 

25, 000 

8,680 

11, 900 

25, 000 

14, 000 

138, 000 

276, 000 

86, 400 

3,486 

2,500 

51, 170 

8,880 

60, 000 

213, 700 

5,704 

76, 000 

30, 000 

20, 000 

36, 000 

18, 000 

22, 380 

2 40, 000 

2 240, 000 

105, 000 

50, 000 

12, 000 

10, 700 

11, 000 

220. 000 

148, 000 

2 22, 400 

250, 000 

300, 000 

260, 000

Mean 

depth 

(ft.)

13 

10 

4.5 

10 

20 

10 

43 

18 

13 

8 

167 

120 

61 

5 

24 

11 

50 

5

10 

3

4.8 

8.5 

2.8 

3.5 

6.0 

12 

52 

600 

460 

16 

175 

2 

2.3 

1.15

Lake area 

(sq. mi.)

45 

26 

14 

20 

16 

230 

27 

2,200 

1,300 

188 

200 

110 

85 

5 

105 

76 

5.5 

50

60 

30

47 

3,100 

740 

74 

88 

140 

25, 000 

170, 000 

390 

1,800 

1,450 

650 

110 

50

Before 1924. 

Milligrams per liter.

SOURCE OP DATA

Devils Lake, N. Dak.: Swenson and Colby (1955).

Basin, Quill, and Redberry Lakes, Saskatchewan: Rawson and 

Moore (1944). The three lakes listed were selected from 

about 25 saline lakes described. Drainage area estimated 

by author from 1:500,000 topographic maps.

Great Salt Lake, Utah: Woolley (1944), and Clarke (1924).

Sevier.Lake, Utah: Gilbert (1890, p. 225).

Pyramid Lake, Utah: Depth and area from Harbeck (1951). 

Salinity from Clarke (1924).

Walker Lake, Nevada: Depth and area from Harbeck (1951). 

Salinity from Clarke (1924).

Mono Lake, Calif.: Depth from Hoyt and Wood (1913). Salinity from Clarke (1924).

Elsinore Lake, Calif.: Harbeck (1951).

Owens Lake, Calif.: Gale (1915).

Omak Lake, Wash.: Depth and area from Pardee (1918)

Salinity from Clarke (1924). 

Lake Abert, Oreg.: Waring (1908), Van Winkle (1914), and

reconnaissance survey made in May 1959. Coefficient

of variation of lake area computed from records of lake

level. 

Summer Lake, Oreg.: Waring (1908), and Van Winkle (1914).

Coefficient of variation of lake area is on basis of reported

shifts in lake due to wind. 

Harney Lake, Oreg.: Waring (1909) and Piper, and others

(1939).

Lake Eyre, Australia.: Bonython (1955). 

Lake Corangamite, Australia.: Alexander and Sutcliffe (1956).

Coefficient of variation of lake area computed from records

of lake levels.
REFERENCES 19

Aral Sea, U.S.S.R.: Depth and area from Woeikof (1909). 

Value of U computed from lake levels reported by Blinov 

(1956, p. 19).

Blinov (1956, p. 99) states that the Aral Sea looses salt by 

seepage out of the lake through the sand deposits along the 

northern, eastern, and southern coasts of the lake. He adds 

"The multitude of shallow-water lakes along the eastern coast 

do not have any visible drainage into the sea as they are 

separated by more or less wide sandbars; but they do not dry 

up and do maintain a constant level during the entire warm 

period. The water in these lakes becomes highly saline as 

autumn approaches."

Aral Sea is therefore stated in effect to be a leaking lake, and 

Blinov further computes that outdrainage and subsequent 

evaporation of a quantity of water equivalent to 20 mm over 

the lake surface is sufficient to account for the loss of salts 

from the lake. But he does not explain the ultimate disposition of the order of several million tons of salts per year. 

Presumably the salts accumulate in and are subsequently 

lost from these offshore salinas.

The following equation can be written to describe the salt 

equilibrium in a leaking lake:

cEAL=CwEAL

where w is the part of the inflow that seeps out of the lake, and 

other terms are as before. The leakage, w, equals c/C. If 

c=180 ppm and C=10,700 ppm, a leakage rate of only 1.7 

percent would account for the salinity of the lake. Leakage 

of 1.7 percent does not appear sufficient to be detected in an 

accounting of the water balance of the lake as Blinov attempts 

to do, because none of the items of that balance can be measured with the necessary degree of precision. 

Caspian Sea, Asia: Depth and area from various encyclopedias, 

salinity from Clarke (1924). The Caspian is considered

a compound lake, the average salinity being a composite 

of that of the main sea and that of the Karaboghaz Gulf. 

Dead Sea, Palestine: Depth and area from Lynch (1849) and by 

correspondence with Dov Nir of the Israel Institute of 

Technology. Salinity from Clarke (1924). Value of U 

computed from records of fluctuations in lake levels. 

According to Ackroyd (1904), the high chloride load of the 

River Jordan is due to cyclic that is, wind-carried salts 

from the Mediterranean Sea. However, there is a material 

increase in chloride load downstream. Upstream at a point 

where the drainage area is 600 square miles, the chloride load 

is of the order of 20 tons per square mile per year. Downstream near its mouth (drainage area 6,300 square miles), the 

chloride load averages 60 tons per square mile per year. The 

downstream decrease in rainfall, and the opposite increase in 

chloride, does not appear to suggest rain-carried salts as the 

dominant source of the chloride. The source may rather be 

the extensive beds of rock salt and other chemical sediments 

in the lower River Jordan basin.

Lake of Urmia, Iran: Salinity from Clarke (1924). Depth and 

area from Encyclopedia Britannica. This Iranian lake 

appears to be almost a twin of Great Salt Lake. They 

have about the same drainage area, lake area, depth, rate 

of evaporation, and salinity. The composition of the 

lake water is also closely the same. 

Lake Van, Turkey: Data furnished by H. H. Contiirk, Ankara,

Turkey.

Tuz Golu, Turkey: Data derived by author. 

Elton Lake, U.S.S.R.: Grabau (1920, p. 200). The value of U 

is estimated on basis of Grabau's account. The lake has 

a high magnesium chloride content.

Baskuntschak Lake, U.S.S.R.: Grabau (1920, p. 202). Value of 

U is estimated on basis of Grabau's statement that it is 

a typical playa.

REFERENCES

Ackroyd, Wm., 1904, On a principal cause of the saltness of the 

Dead Sea: Chem. News, v. 89, p. 13.

Alexander, G. N., and Sutcliffe, A. J., 1956, Hydrologic investigation of Lake Corangamite floodings: State Rivers and Water 

Supply Commission, Melbourne, Victoria. [Mimeographed]

Blinov, L. K., 1956, Gidrokhimiya Aralskogo Morya [Hydrochemistry of the Aral Sea]: Gidrometeozdat, 251 p. [Only 

Chap. 3, "Salt Balance of the Aral Sea," was translated]

Bonython, C. W., 1955, Lake Eyre, South Australia; The great 

flooding of 1949-50: Royal Geog. Soc. Australasia, South 

Australia Branch.

 1956, The salt of Lake Eyre its occurrence in Madigan 

Gulf and its possible origin: Royal Soc. South Australia 

Trans., v. 9, p. 66-92.

Chilingar, G. V., 1959, Formation of sediments in recent basins: 

Internat. Geology Rev., v. 1, p. 105-111. [A review of a 

Russian symposium]

Clarke, F. W., 1924, The data of geochemistry: U.S. Geol. 

Survey Bull. 770.

Eardley, A. J., Gvosdetsky, Vasyl, and Marsell, R. E., 1957, 

Hydrology of Lake Bonneville and sediments and soils of 

its basin: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 68, p. 1141-1202.

Erickson, E., 1958, The chemical climate and saline soils in the 

arid zone, in Arid zone research, climatology: Reviews of 

Research, U.N. Educ. and Cultural Organization, Paris, 

France.

Gale, H. S., 1915, Salines in southeastern California: U.S

Geol. Survey Bull. 580, p. 251-323.

Gilbert, G. K., 1890, Lake Bonneville: U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 1. 

Grabau, A. W., 1920, Principles of salt deposition: 1st ed. New

York, McGraw-Hill. 

Halley, Edmund, 1715, On the cause of the saltness of the ocean,

and of the several lakes that emit no rivers: Royal Soc.

London Philos. Trans., v. 6, p. 169. 

Harbeck, G. E., Jr., 1951, Utility of selected western lakes and

reservoirs for water-loss studies: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ.

103. 

Harbeck, G. E., Jr., Kohler, M. A., and Koberg, G. E., 1958,

Water-loss investigations, Lake Mead studies: U.S. Geol.

Survey Prof. Paper 298. 

Harding, S. T., 1935, Evaporation from large water surfaces

based on records in California and Nevada: Am. Geophys.

Union Trans., v. 16, pt. 2, p. 507-511. 

Harding, S. T., 1942, Lakes, in Meinzer, O. E., ed., Physics

of the earth, pt. 9, Hydrology: New York, McGraw-Hill,

p. 220-243. 

Hoyt, J. C., and Wood, B. D., 1913, Gazetteer of surface waters

of California: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 297. 

Hutchinson, G. E., 1937, A contribution to the limnology of arid

regions: Connecticut Acad. Arts and Sciences Trans., v.

33, p. 47-132. 

 1957, A treatise on limnology: New York, John Wiley & Sons.
20 SALINITY AND HYDROLOGY OF CLOSED LAKES

Jones, J. C., 1925, Geologic history of Lake Lahontan: Carnegie

Inst. Washington Pub. 352, p. 3-50.

Kohler, M. A., Nordenson, T. J., and Baker, D. R., 1959, Evaporation maps for the United States: U.S. Weather Bureau

Tech. Rept. 37. 

Lynch, W. F., 1849, in Report of the Secretary of the Navy

transmitting official report on examination of the Dead

Sea: U.S. 30th Gong., 2d sess., Senate Exec. Doc. 34. 

Lynch, W. F., 1849, Narrative of the U.S. Expedition to the

River Jordan and the Dead Sea: Philadelphia, Pa., Lea and

Blanchard. 

Matthes, F. E., 1942, Glaciers, in Meinzer, O. E., Ed., Physics

of the earth, Pt. 9: New York, McGraw-Hill. 

Pardee, J. T., 1918, Geology and mineral deposits of the Colville

Indian Reservation, Wash.: U.S. Geol. Sruvey Bull. 677. 

Meinzer, O. E., 1911, Geology and water resources of Estancia

Valley, New Mexico: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply

Paper 275. 

Piper, A. M., Robinson, T. W., and Park, C. F., 1939, Geology

and ground-water resources of the Harney Basin, Oregon:

U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 841. 

Rawson, D. S., and Moore, J. E., 1944, The saline lakes of

Saskatchewan: Canadian Jour., Research, v. 22, p. 141-201.

Russell, I. C., 1885, Geological history of Lake Lahontan: 

U.S. Geol. Survey Mon. 11.

 1896, Present and extinct lakes of Nevada, in Natl.

Geog. Soc., The Physiography of the United States: New

York, American Book Co. 

Swenson, H. A., and Colby, B. R., 1955, Chemical quality ofsurface waters in Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota: U.S.

Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 1295.

Thornthwaite, C. W., 1948, An approach toward a rational classification of climate: Geog. Rev., v. 38, p. 55-94. 

Van Winkle, Walton, 1914, Quality of the surface waters of

Oregon: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 363. 

Waring, G. A., 1908, Geology and water resources of a portion

of south-central Oregon: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply

Paper 220.

 1909, Geology and water resources of the Harney Basin 

region, Oregon: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 231.

Woeikof, A., 1909, Der Aralsee und sein Gebeit nach den neuesten 

Forschungen: Petermanns Mitteilungen, v. 55, p. 82-86.

Woolley, R. R., 1944, An engineer looks at Great Salt Lake: 

Civil Eng., v. 14, p. 332-334.

O