On the South Dakota border, there's a lake that could be used to make a case for Minnesota as the gateway to the West. It has more in common with the land of cowboys and cattle than any of Minnesota's other 10,000-plus lakes. Shore birds pick at the muddy beach for a snack and bees search for nectar in the stands of grass and flowers growing along the water's edge. Salt Lake is a third as salty as the ocean and it supports an assortment of life not usually found in the state.
Salt grasses grow along the water's edge and in the lake itself.
A close look at the thin strip of dried mud flats surrounding the lake reveals what makes this lake different. Like powdered sugar on a brownie, the dark mud is dusted by a layer of white. Oddly enough for Minnesota, that layer is salt. Avid bird watcher and outdoor enthusiast Goodman Larson has spent a lifetime studying Salt Lake. He was born in Marietta, though he now lives in the Twin Cities.