Great Salt Lake | lake, Utah, United States | Britannica.com Great Salt Lake list of cities and towns in the United States Great Salt Lake, lake in northern Utah , U.S. , the largest inland body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most saline inland bodies of water in the world. The lake is fed by the Bear, Weber, and Jordan rivers and has no outlet. The lake has fluctuated greatly in size, depending on the rates of evaporation and the flow of the rivers that feed it. Its surface area has varied from about 2,400 square miles (6,200 square km) at its highest levels in 1873 and the mid-1980s to about 950 square miles (2,460 square km) at its lowest level in 1963. At high level the lake’s surface is 4,212 feet (1,284 metres) above sea level , and at low level it is 4,191 feet (1,277 metres).

At times of median water level, the lake is generally less than 15 feet (4.5 metres) deep, with a maximum depth of 35 feet (11 metres). Like the Dead Sea , the Great Salt Lake exists within an arid environment and has chemical characteristics similar to that of the oceans. It has a much greater salinity than the oceans, however, since natural evaporation exceeds the supply of water from the rivers feeding the lake. Surrounded by great stretches of sand, salt land, and marsh, the Great Salt Lake remains eerily isolated from the nearby cities, towns, and other human habitations, though in recent years means have been found to turn its apparent sterility to a profit in both economic and recreational terms. It has become important not only as a source of minerals but also as a beach and water-sports attraction and a wildlife preserve. Geologic and human history The Great Salt Lake is the largest of the lake remnants of prehistoric freshwater Lake Bonneville , the others being Bear Lake, on the Utah-Idaho border, and Utah Lake , west of Provo , Utah.

Formed late in the Pleistocene Epoch about 30,000 years ago, Lake Bonneville at high water covered almost 20,000 square miles (52,000 square km) of present-day western Utah and also extended into modern Nevada and Idaho . During succeeding glacial periods, large quantities of freshwater entered this intermontane basin and drained out through the Snake River—ultimately into the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean . During the interglacial and postglacial periods, however, water levels decreased and the outflows were cut off. Water, therefore, could escape only through evaporation, and the mineral salts from the inflowing rivers remained trapped in the lake. Similar Topics Lake Superior The lake appeared on 18th-century maps of the continent through reports of explorer-trappers and Indian tales as a semilegendary body alternately named Timpanogos or Buenaventura, depending on the source. The first white explorers whose accounts are fully credited were the trappers Étienne Provost and Jim Bridger , who came upon the lake independently in 1824–25. More detailed investigations were made by Captain John C.

Frémont in 1843 and 1845. The Mormons’ settlement in 1847 of their “promised land,” on the nearby site of Salt Lake City , brought the region more fully into national awareness. The lake was surveyed in 1850, and in 1869 the last spike of America’s first transcontinental railroad was driven near the lake’s northeastern shore. The study of the Great Basin region by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1890 was an important source of information about the lake, and later studies have been led by that agency. Surface features and chemistry The lake’s basin is defined by the foothills of the Wasatch Range to the north, east, and south and by the Great Salt Lake Desert, a remnant of the bed of Lake Bonneville, to the west. The part of this desert known as the Bonneville Salt Flats has become an automobile raceway, the site of many trials for world land-speed records. The lake’s varying shoreline consists of beaches, marshes, and mudflats.

The 30-mile- (48-kilometre-) long Lucin Cutoff , an east-west causeway laid down for a rail line in 1959, connects the cities of Ogden and Lucin, splits the lake, and affects the water level. Because the lake’s main tributaries enter from the south, the water level of the southern section is several inches higher than that of the northern part. Eleven small islands, the largest of which are Antelope and Fremont, lie south of the cutoff. The Great Salt Lake’s record high levels in the mid-1980s threatened the Lucin Cutoff, highways, and sewage-treatment plants along the shore, and in 1987 pumps were installed that began draining some of the lake’s excess waters into the Great Salt Lake Desert to the west. The resulting new body of water was called the Newfoundland Evaporation Basin. Britannica Stories Great Salt Lake State Park - Visitor Information | Utah.com Visit website Request Info & Brochure The Great Salt Lake is one of the most asked-about tourist destinations in Utah. A remnant of the massive ancient Lake Bonneville, the lake is now landlocked and its waters are salty.

It is the largest lake between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean, and is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Legends abound about the lake. Early explorers thought the lake was an inland extension of the Pacific Ocean, or that a river connected the lake to the ocean. Some Indians and early settlers thought the lake was inhabited by a terrible monster with an enormous head. The lake and its legends are an intriguing part of Utah's landscape and history. Recreation Excellent views of the lake are available from: Ensign Peak on the north edge of Salt Lake City Bench areas in the cities of Bountiful, Centerville and Farmington Trails on Antelope Island Interstate 80 along the lake's south shoreline Swimming and sunbathing are popular on the clean, white sand beaches at Antelope Island State Park. The salinity of the water averages about 12%, making it much saltier than the ocean. The water is so buoyant that people can easily float. Freshwater showers are available to rinse off after swimming. Sailing is very popular on the lake and full-service marinas are available at Antelope Island and Great Salt Lake State Marina on the south shore.

On overcast days, the horizon on the lake blends into the sky and the landscape takes on a surreal look: skimming sailboats and the lake's distant islands appear to float midair. However, the lake is shallow (average depth about 20 feet) and even moderate winds can cause rough water. Experience is needed to navigate the lake. Powerboats can also operate on the lake. Motors not rated for saltwater need to be flushed carefully after use. Many people also kayak on the lake. Wildlife is abundant on Antelope Island and in the lake's shoreline marshes. Bison, antelope, deer, bobcats, coyotes, and elk roam freely on the island and are often seen by visitors. Bird watching is popular at many spots around the lake, including the federally managed Bear River Bird Refuge and the state's Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. The lake's marshes attract large numbers of migratory birds. Duck and goose hunting is allowed in some areas and is usually very good. Kayaking on the Great Salt Lake is a great way to see some of the areas that you normally wouldn't see.

With 10,000 miles of shoreline it can be one of the most rewarding places to paddle in North America. Mountain biking is popular on excellent trails on Antelope and Stansbury islands. These areas also offer excellent hiking. Antelope Island also offers excellent facilities for picnicking and camping. Fish live in the freshwater marshes and inlets, but no fish species can survive in the lake's salty water. Unique brine shrimp thrive in the lake; they are harvested and processed into fish food. Brine flies live on the lake's shorelines and can be annoying. They don't bite but often swarm around humans. Antelope Island beaches are relatively free of brine flies. Winds coming off the lake can carry a "lake stench" at some times of the year. Again, the odor is usually not a problem at Antelope Island. History The Great Salt Lake is actually the remainder of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which covered some 20,000 square miles of land in what is now Utah, Nevada and Idaho some 10,000 to 30,000 years ago.

The present lake is about 75 miles long and 35 miles wide, with a maximum depth of 33 feet. After a series of wet years, the lake's surface area may be much larger but it will be only a little bit deeper. Water levels in the lake are far from constant. During its recorded low in 1963, some of the lake's 10 major islands became peninsulas. In 1983, when the lake reached its historic high, it flooded houses, farmland and the nearby freeway. Huge pumps were constructed to deposit excess water into Utah's west desert. The pumps were shut down in 1989. Four rivers and numerous streams empty into the Great Salt Lake, carrying dissolved minerals. The lake has no outlet so these minerals are trapped. Continual evaporation concentrates the minerals. Several businesses extract table salt and other chemicals from the lake water. Park Information There are two Utah State Parks on the Great Salt Lake: Antelope Island State Park and Great Salt Lake State Park. Antelope Island offers clean beaches, a visitor center, marina, historic ranch house, bison and camping. The Great Salt Lake Park offers a marina, with boat launching facilities.

Getting There The Great Salt Lake is located north and west of Salt Lake City. To reach Antelope Island, drive north on I-15 to Syracuse, then west on U-127, following the signs. A causeway has been built to allow automobile access to the island. Great Salt Lake State Park is located at the south end of the lake and about 16 miles west of Salt Lake City, along I-80. Great Salt Lake Great Salt Lake Richard H. Jackson Utah History Encyclopedia The Great Salt Lake is both the largest body of water between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean and the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere. The Great Salt Lake is the major remnant of Lake Bonneville, a large freshwater lake of the Pleistocene era (75,000-7,250 B.C.) that occupied much of western Utah. The lake occupies one of the basins of the Great Basin, and is located at the western margin of the Wasatch Mountains of the Rocky Mountain Range. The lake receives water from numerous perennial and intermittent streams originating in the surrounding mountains, the most important of which are the Bear, Weber, and Jordan rivers.

No streams empty from the lake, and its high salinity is caused by the accumulation of minerals with no removal and the accompanying water evaporation. The lake occupies a broad level valley that has been created as deposits eroded from the surrounding mountains have filled the valley with sediments thousands of feet deep. The level nature of the valley is responsible for wide variations in the surface area of the lake, as a rise of only a few feet during wetter years can increase the surface area dramatically. In 1962 the lake elevation was 4,192 feet above sea level, giving it a surface area of 969 square miles (620,400 acres). In the early 1980s the lake reached an elevation of 4,212 feet above sea level, giving it a surface area of 2,300 square mile (1,472,000 acres). The existence of a large body of water in an arid region, especially a salt lake, attracted early attention. Native American cultures used the freshwater marshes and streams around the lake for hunting and fishing.

The first European reports of the lake seem to have been by Baron Lahontan, who reported in 1703 that he had seen a region west of the Mississippi which contained a large salt lake. The next recorded information about the lake came from the Dominguez-Escalante expedition. Reaching Utah Lake in 1776, they were informed by Indians that it was joined to a much larger lake to the north whose waters were "harmful or extremely salty wherefore . . . anybody getting a part of his body wet instantly feels severe itching around the wet part." The most important effect of the Dominguez-Escalante report was its inclusion of a map showing a river connecting the Great Salt Lake to the Pacific Ocean. This mythical river was later sought by explorers and settlers as a route to the Pacific. Trappers explored the region of the Great Salt Lake, beginning with Robert Stewart, who was at Bear Lake in 1812 but apparently did not visit the salt lake. Later trappers visited the lake, but is unclear who was first. Jim Bridger reportedly saw the lake in 1824.

In 1826 a group of four trappers from the Rocky Mountain Fur Company spent twenty-four days circumnavigating the lake, seemingly putting to rest the idea of a river flowing from it to the Pacific Ocean. In spite of this, the Fremont expedition of 1843-44 visited the Great Salt Lake in 1843 and searched for a river flowing west to the Pacific, finally concluding that the lake indeed occupied part of a great basin which had no drainage to the sea. Reports of the valley of the Great Salt Lake reaching Mormon leaders in Nauvoo, Illinois, prompted them to select it as a destination by 1845, and the first Mormon pioneer party reached the Great Salt Lake Valley on 22-24 July 1847. On 27 July Brigham Young and other leaders of the group visited the lake, and by August the lake was supplying salt to the settlers. The high salt content of the lake has restricted its use, but several resorts have existed on its shores from time to time, the most famous being Saltair.

From 1893 until it burned in 1925, and again after its reconstruction until drought isolated it in the 1930s, it was a major recreation facility. More recently sailing has been a popular activity at the lake. The lake has also been associated with mining its salt and collecting its brine shrimp for fish food. From the earliest Indians who obtained common salt to modern industries extracting a variety of minerals from its waters, from the tourists visiting the lake to experience the buoyancy provided by its waters to locals sailing its waters, the Great Salt Lake has remained a valuable and unique part of America's geography. United States Features Map Puzzle United States Features Map Puzzle Click and drag the feature to the correct place on the map. Free Maps, Map Puzzles and Educational Software: Owl and Mouse Educational Software United States Features Map Puzzle Hints Many rivers form the boundaries between states, so this is an easy way to position the rivers. Also notice how the names of rivers—the Ohio, the Mississippi, the Arkansas, the Colorado and the Missouri are also the names of states, but not always the state you would expect.

Just be glad we don’t have states named “Red” or “Platte.” Yukon River The Brooks Range is in Alaska, running across the Northern part of the state. Like the Alaska range, it is part of a system of mountain ranges that extend from Central America to Alaska and Canada. Back The Yukon River flows from western Canada toward the Bering Sea, emptying on the western side of the state, about halfway between the Northern and Southern coasts. Back The Alaska Range curves across the Southern coast of the main part of Alaska. It is part of a system of mountain ranges that extend from Central America north to Alaska and Canada. Back The Appalachian Mountains are more than 1300 miles long, running from Maine down into Georgia. Most of the ridges run from northeast to southwest. The highest peak in the Appalachians, Mount Mitchell, is 6684 feet—not very high for the highest point in a mountain range. Because the Appalachians are old mountains, their peaks are lower and much less jagged than the peaks of the Rocky mountains. Back The Rocky Mountains are high, jagged mountains which stretch from Mexico and up into Canada.

They are part of the system of mountains which continues from Central America up through Canada and Alaska. The Rocky Mountains and the high plains to the East of them constitute most of the landscape of the American West. The highest part of the Rockies is in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico, where there are more than fifty peaks over 14,000 feet. The South Pass, in Wyoming, is the route where the first transcontinental railroad went through the Rocky Mountains. Although the pass is still high at 7000 feet, it rises gradually enough to allow a train to go over easily. The early pioneers travelling by wagon train used the same pass to get through the Rocky Mountains on the Oregon Trail. Back The Red River is the most southerly of the large rivers forming the Mississippi-Missouri river system. It runs from north Texas to meet the Mississippi in Louisiana, forming the border between Oklahoma and Texas in its middle third. Back The Platte River flows from eastern Wyoming, through Nebraska, to join the Missouri River between Nebraska and Iowa. Back The Cascade Range is in Washington and Oregon, about a third of the way in from the coast. Back Mount St. Helens is in southern Washington, just west of the Cascade Range.

It is a volcanic mountain which erupted violently in 1980. Back The Columbia River crosses the Cascade Mountains from eastern Washington to the Pacific. Back The Great Salt Lake is salty, like the ocean, not fresh water, like most lakes, because it does not drain to the sea. It is in the Northern part of Utah, north of the Colorado-Wyoming line. Back Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes entirely within the United States. Back Lake Erie , like all the Great Lakes, is fresh water. It forms part of the northern borders of Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio. Back Lake Ontario is the most easterly of the Great Lakes. It forms part of the Northern border of New York. Back Lake Huron is between the southern part of Michigan and Canada. Like all of the Great Lakes except Lake Michigan, it is partly in the USA and partly in Canada. Back Lake Superior , the largest of the Great Lakes, is between Canada and the states of Michigan and Minnesota. Back The Mississippi River , the largest river in North America, flows from Minnesota to Louisiana, where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. It forms the borders of Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

Because it has no rapids, it has been a major transportation route for thousands of years. Back The Ohio River flows from Pennsylvania to join the Mississippi where Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri meet. Back The Olympic Mountains are in the Olympic Peninsula, in the extreme northwestern part of Washington. Back Great Basin | region, United States | Britannica.com region, United States Alternative Title: Great Basin Desert Related Topics tectonic basins and rift valleys Great Basin, also called Great Basin Desert, distinctive natural feature of western North America that is equally divided into rugged, north-south–trending mountain blocks and broad intervening valleys. It covers an arid expanse of about 190,000 square miles (492,000 square km) and is bordered by the Sierra Nevada range on the west, the Wasatch Mountains on the east, the Columbia Plateau on the north, and the Mojave Desert on the south. With the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Mojave deserts, the Great Basin forms one of four divisions of the North American Desert . Most of the U.S. state of Nevada , the western half of Utah , and portions of other nearby states lie within its boundaries.

The Great Basin is the largest subdivision—consisting of the northern half—of the Basin and Range Province, a physiographic feature extending southward to include southern Arizona , southeastern and central New Mexico , the western tip of Texas, and northwestern Mexico . Death Valley National Park in the Great Basin, southeastern California, U.S. Joseph Sohm—Choromosohm/Photo Researchers The mountain ranges of the Great Basin have been likened, in an old survey report, to a group of caterpillars, all crawling irregularly northward. The ranges are from 60 to 120 miles (95 to 190 km) long and 3 to 15 miles (5 to 24 km) wide. The valleys are usually somewhat wider than the ranges and are mostly deserts, with floors 1,000 to 6,000 feet (300 to 1,800 m) above sea level. The ranges have peaks commonly reaching 9,000 feet (2,750 m) or more above sea level, and where this occurs they catch a moderate amount of precipitation and support conifer stands.

The western face of the Sierra Nevada otherwise blocks rain-bearing winds off the Pacific Ocean from reaching the Great Basin, forming a rain shadow over the entire region. The annual rainfall of 6 to 12 inches (150 to 300 mm) in the basin supports little more than a sparse desert or semidesert vegetation. Similar Topics Qiangtang The Great Basin is particularly noted for its internal drainage system, in which precipitation falling on the surface leads eventually to closed valleys and does not reach the sea. The Humboldt River of northern Nevada, for example, rises in ranges in the northeast of the state, drains a number of small valleys on its way westward, and ends in a closed basin called Humboldt Sink. The Great Salt Lake lies in the final and lowest catchment basin of western Utah and gathers much of the drainage of the region that has not evaporated or seeped underground en route. The arid Great Basin for a long time thwarted westward cross-country travel to California and hence impeded significantly the development of the western United States.

Jedediah Smith (1798–1831), a great explorer of the West, made the first journey across the basin in 1824 but did not document his travels. He was followed by John C. Frémont , who surveyed an eastern swath of the Great Basin in 1846 but did not cross it. The California Gold Rush brought thousands westward in 1848 and 1849, many of them reaching Salt Lake City and then attempting alternate routes across the Great Basin. A survey made in 1867–78 produced the first federally sponsored scientific account of the climate, travel conditions, and resources of the Utah-Nevada region. The ranges and valleys of the Great Basin may be characterized as huge blocks of the Earth’s crust that have been uplifted, sunk, and tilted. Enormous cracks, or faults , bound the blocks, and the uplifted parts have been eroded over geologic time, with the debris accumulating over the depressed parts. There are about 30 major fault-bounded blocks, generally 15–30 miles (24–48 km) across, between the Wasatch Range and the Sierra Nevada.

USA Facts In many places volcanic rocks that formed about 30,000,000 years ago have been cut and displaced by the block faults. Furthermore, many of the faults exhibit fresh surfaces, indicating recent movement; there are historical records of earthquakes and constant contemporary micro-earthquakes, indicating that faulting has continued to the present day. Britannica Stories Great Basin - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11) The Great Basin is a region in the western United States. It is bordered on the east by the Rocky Mountains and on the west by the Sierra Nevada mountains. The Columbia Plateau makes up the northern border, and the Mojave Desert is the southern border. The Great Basin includes parts of the states of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. Notable features of the area include the cities of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Las Vegas, Nevada; Arches National Park in Utah; Great Basin National Park in Nevada; and the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Article History Bonneville Salt Flats Bonneville Salt Flats Kevin B.

Hallaran Utah History Encyclopedia The Bonneville Salt Flats of the western Great Salt Lake Desert were formed through the evaporation of the Pleistocene-era Lake Bonneville. The salt flats are actually the bed of that once massive lake which rivaled in size present Lake Michigan. The flats are composed mainly of potash salts ranging in thickness from less than one inch to six feet. In 1827, trapper, trader, explorer, and frontiersman Jedediah Smith was perhaps the first white man to cross the salt flats in 1827 while returning from his first expedition to California. Six years later, Joseph Reddeford Walker, another trapper, mapped and explored the areas around the Great Salt Lake and crossed the northern perimeter of the flats while in the employ of Captain Benjamin L. E. Bonneville. It is from Benjamin Bonneville that the salt flats and prehistoric lake derive their name, although it is unlikely that Bonneville himself ever saw the flats. The Bonneville Salt Flats is part of the Great Salt Lake desert, shown here Racing on the Salt Flats, 1940s, with Ab Jenkins' Mormon Meteor III In 1845, John C.

Fremont and his expedition crossed through the very heart of the salt flats in an effort to find a shorter overland route to the Pacific. In the following year, Fremont's route across the flats would come to be known as the Hastings Cutoff. The Cutoff, promoted by Lansford Hastings as a faster and easier route to California, proved to be just the opposite for the ill-fated Donner-Reed party of 1846. A factor contributing to the Donner-Reed tragedy in the Sierra Nevadas was the delay the party experienced on the salt flats when their wagons became mired in the mud found just below the thin salt crust. Abandoned wagon parts from the party were present on the flats well into the 1930s, and the wheel tracks of their wagons were still visible in 1986 when archaeologists examined several sites associated with the party. The tragedy of the Donner-Reed Party inhibited extensive use of the Hastings Cutoff as an overland migration trail. The salt flats did, however, yield scientific information to the expeditions of Captain Howard Stansbury in 1849 and of Captain J.H.

Simpson in 1859, both with the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. Fifty years after the Donner-Reed party slogged their way across the flats, the area's first use as raceway was conceived by publisher William Randolph Hearst in a publicity stunt. Hearst hired William Rishel of Cheyenne, Wyoming, to attempt a crossing on bicycle. Rishel completed the journey, crossing the salt flats in 22 hours. Early attempts to promote automobile racing failed until 1925 when Ab Jenkins, driving a Studebaker, beat a special excursion train by ten minutes in a race across the flats. Since that time the Bonneville Salt Flats have attracted racers from throughout the world and have become the site of numerous land speed records. Their attraction for these racers is due to the hard, flat surface expanse - in an area so flat that from certain perspectives the curvature of the earth can actually be seen. See: Paul Clifton, The Fastest Men on Earth (1966); Dale L. Morgan, The Great Salt Lake (1986). Mormon Immigrants How did the Mormons end up in Utah?

Joseph Smith The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon or LDS church) was started by Joseph Smith in 1830 in New York. Later, members of this church gathered in Nauvoo, Illinois. Some people disliked Mormon beliefs and practices and persecuted members of this church. After a mob murdered Joseph Smith in 1844, his followers started to think about moving somewhere where they could live peacefully. Enemies were still attacking Mormons in different ways. Because of this persecution, in the cold of February 1846 the Mormons began to leave Nauvoo. They journeyed to Winter Quarters, Nebraska, and set up a temporary community. The Mormon Battalion James K. Polk Because they had left behind their lands, buildings, and many possessions, the Mormons asked the federal government for financial help. The U.S. had declared war on Mexico in May 1846, so President James K. Polk agreed to enlist a battalion of Mormon men, who would receive pay for their service. The Mormon Battalion at the Gila River in Arizona, a painting by George Ottinger (1833-1917).

Around 500 volunteers enlisted and began a grueling march to San Diego (33 women and 51 children started out with them). During 1846-47, these men blazed a wagon route across the Southwest, but they never fought in the war. Their pay and their later explorations helped the Mormons become established in Utah. Where to go next? Meanwhile, the people gathered in Winter Quarters got ready to move again. Where to? It seemed that the Great Basin would be a perfect place to go. Why? The Great Basin lay far away from any government—in fact, this land belonged to Mexico at the time. (When Mexico lost the war, the United States took possession of the Great Basin.) Here, the Mormons hoped, they could live their faith in peace. Mormon pioneers, sketched by Ortho Fairbanks. In April 1847 the first group of Mormon settlers left and headed west along the California Trail. Brigham Young led a group of two children, three women, and 143 men. They traveled on horseback or in oxen-pulled wagons for three months; then, on July 22, the first men entered the Salt Lake Valley.

Brigham Young himself arrived on July 24, 1847. What other religious groups in U.S. or world history have moved all together to start a new colony? How are these different or the same as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? The Mormon migration Between 1847 and 1869, when the Transcontinental Railroad was built, about 70,000 Mormons migrated to Utah along the Mormon Trail. Many of them got help from their church. If they could not pay their way across the ocean, or across the plains, the Church’s Perpetual Emigration Fund might loan them the money they needed. When they arrived, they could pay off the loan so the money could help another immigrant. People traveled in companies of wagons. Some traveled by handcart. Salt Lake Valley in 1847, painted by H. Culmer. Getting started in a new place. Once the settlers arrived in the valley, the real work began. Today, when most people travel to a place, they stay in a hotel or with friends, and they go out to eat at restaurants or buy food from a grocery store.

But when the first pioneers arrived in Utah, the only people in the region were American Indians and a few explorers, traders, and mountain men scattered around. Basically, these new immigrants had to make or grow everything they would need in their new lives. What would be the most important things to do first? Right away, that first group of pioneers began get the land ready for farming. The first big challenges were digging irrigation ditches to bring water from City Creek into the fields, and getting crops planted right away. They also built a fort where Pioneer Park now is. This fort had little cabins with sod roofs built along the wall. Making a city. Brigham Young directed that Salt Lake City (and other towns) be set up on a grid system. The streets were to run north-south and east-west. Young wanted the streets to be wide enough for two wagons to easily pass each other. We should be grateful for this, because of all the cars, bicycles, busses, and TRAX trains that share the streets today! Spreading out. As the “Mormon Village” of Salt Lake City began to thrive and later groups of pioneers arrived, Brigham Young sent settlers to other areas of the state.

He sent a variety of skilled people to each community, so that each town would have people who could farm, work with iron, wood or leather, weave cloth, and more. By 1850, Mormons had started the communities of Bountiful, Farmington, Ogden, Tooele, Provo, and Manti. Each had a leader who had authority over both community and church affairs. Sometimes, groups of people decided on their own to move somewhere and set up a community, without direction from the church. By 1857, the Mormons had started more than 90 settlements. Life in a new place. Most communities also established an irrigation system . Why was irrigation so important? At first, the new settlers built log cabins—or they lived in dugouts or even in their wagons for a while. When the communities got more settled, they could build houses and buildings out of stone, adobe brick, or brick Many of these communities also built forts around their cabins for protection when Native Americans and the settlers were fighting. The Mormon village in Utah was a planned community of farmers and trades people. The village would include a main living area and farms and farm buildings on the land beyond.

Life in these villages centered on the day's work and church activities. The early pioneers worked hard, but they also loved to relax with music, dance, and drama. Learn more. Every community and region has its own fascinating story behind its founding. Many communities or regions were settled because church leaders wanted the people to produce everything the territory would need: cotton, sugar, fruits, tobacco, grapes, metals, grains, silk, and other goods. United by their faith, the people worked together to build their communities. Some of these ventures worked, some didn’t, but all the tales are ones of industry, bravery, and hope. See what you can find out about your community--and learn the stories of the people and the industries that were here before you. Physical Characteristics of Great Salt Lake Physical Characteristics of Great Salt Lake Physical Characteristics of Great Salt Lake Surviving extremes and fluctuations Great Salt Lake is always changing. Conditions vary with location, with the seasons, and from one year to the next. In order to survive, the plants, animals and microbes that live in and around Great Salt Lake must be able to adjust to their constantly changing environment. But they also must survive the lake's often extreme conditions.

Some of the challenges that the organisms of Great Salt Lake face include: Salinity Great Salt Lake is between 3.5 and 8 times saltier than the ocean. The organisms that live in the water have special adaptations that allow them to survive such saline conditions. Ultraviolet light Air blocks much of the sun's DNA-damaging ultraviolet light from reaching the surface of the earth. But at an elevation of 4,200 feet, there is less air above Great Salt Lake than there is at sea level, and ultraviolet light levels are about 15% higher. Temperature Great Salt Lake is an average of just 14 feet deep, with a maximum depth of 33 feet. Its shallow depth means that much of its surface area is exposed to the air, and is subject to its seasonal temperature fluctuations. Water temperatures vary from below freezing in the winter to more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. Water level The water level changes a lot from year to year. When less water than normal flows into the lake, water levels drop and salinity rises. The shoreline recedes and wetlands dry up. Low water levels sometimes connect islands to the shore, exposing bird nesting areas to predators.

During high precipitation years, lake levels rise and salinity drops. The shoreline expands and wetlands get covered by salt water, sometimes killing sensitive plants and destroying wildlife habitats. Even within a single year, it's normal for the water level to change by 2 to 3 feet. In some areas, a one foot change in elevation can cause the shoreline to move as much as one mile. A constantly moving shoreline Illustration based on Major Levels of Great Salt Lake and Lake Bonneville, published by the Utah Geological and Mineral Survey When a little more or a little less water than usual flows into Great Salt Lake, the shoreline moves a lot. A few consecutive years of below- or above-average precipitation can produce dramatic changes. Four years of above-average precipitation during the 1980s increased the lake level by 12 feet, submerging buildings and highways near the shoreline and increasing the lake's surface area by a third. Twenty years later, five years of drought caused a 10 foot drop in elevation, shrinking the lake to half its size. Changes in lake elevation are accompanied by changes in salinity. During wet years, incoming fresh water dilutes the salt water, and salinity decreases.

During dry years, continued evaporation removes fresh water, and salinity increases. Great Salt Lake is broad and flat The reason the shoreline of Great Salt Lake shifts so dramatically is because it sits at the bottom of a broad and relatively flat basin. Think of pouring water into a plate versus a bowl. Like Great Salt Lake, Mono Lake and Pyramid Lake are terminal lakes in the Great Basin of the Western United States. But because they sit in deeper basins, fluctuating water levels affect their surface areas much less dramatically. Nevada's Pyramid Lake, for example, is only about 10% as large as Great Salt Lake, but it holds 25% more water. Great Salt Lake has a much greater surface-area-to-volume ratio than other lakes in the region. As a result, a tremendous amount of water -- an average of 2.6 billion gallons -- evaporates from the lake each day. This affects not only the lake's depth, but also the weather. Moisture from the lake produces lake effect snow during the winter, and afternoon thunderstorms during the summer.

All drains do not lead to the ocean Much of the water that falls to the ground makes its way through a watershed - a series of streams, rivers and lakes - to the ocean. Water flows downhill, and the ocean is at the bottom of the hill, right? But Great Salt Lake sits at the bottom of a "closed basin". It's a terminal lake. The only way water can leave is through evaporation. So in this part of the world, all drains lead to Great Salt Lake. And what goes into the lake tends to stay in the lake. Most terminal lakes have a high mineral content and, like Great Salt Lake, are quite salty. Even though the water flowing into Great Salt Lake is fresh, it contains small amounts of dissolved minerals. As water evaporates from the lake, the minerals stay behind. Over many thousands of years, minerals have accumulated to very high levels. The saltiest regions of Great Salt Lake are nearly 9 times saltier than the ocean. The Great Salt Lake drainage basin covers about 22,000 square miles and includes most of Northern Utah as well as parts of Nevada, Idaho, and Wyoming.

It includes three major river systems: Bear (blue), Ogden/Weber (purple), and Jordan (orange). Illustration based on Great Salt Lake, an overview of change, p. 304, and a map compiled by Daniel Smith from the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining. Hidden Water explores the drainages and irrigation systems that flow through Salt Lake City into Great Salt Lake.

Question: In which state of the USA would you find the Great Salt Lake?
Answer: Utah