Lambourne left the island early in the winter of 1896 along with the first group of guano sifters.[12]. From the time of the causeway’s construction in 1959 until 1987, Great Salt Lake experienced its greatest recorded changes in surface elevation, from its low of 4,191.35 feet in 1963 to its high of 4,211.85 feet in 1987. The Salton Sea has a salinity of 44 grams salt per litre of ocean water, greater than that of the Pacific Ocean (35 g/L). [61] There were concerns from the brine shrimp harvesting industry that the conditions in the southern arm of the lake were becoming too saline for the brine shrimp, following several years of lower precipitation in the lake's watershed. Get all MassWildlife's freshwater fishing information in one place—featured sites, boat ramps, trout stocked waters, pond and lake summaries, and digital depth information. Its average depth ranges from 13 to 24 ft (4 to 7.3 m). Access to Hat, Gunnison, and Cub islands is strictly limited by the State of Utah in an effort to protect nesting colonies of American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos). The State of Utah operates a marina on the south shore of the lake at Great Salt Lake State Park, and another in Antelope Island State Park. The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of a much larger prehistoric lake called Lake Bonneville. [31][32] More salt is added yearly via rivers and streams, though the amount is much less than the relict salt from Bonneville. The water level is also affected by the amount of water flow diverted for agricultural and urban uses. Minerals extracted from the lake include: sodium chloride (common salt), used in water softeners, salt lick blocks for livestock, and to melt ice on local roadways (food-grade salt is not produced from the lake, as it would require costly processing to ensure its purity); potassium sulfate, used as a commercial fertilizer; and magnesium-chloride brine, used in the production of magnesium metal, chlorine gas, and as a dust suppressant. The three major tributaries to the lake, the Jordan, Weber, and Bear rivers together deposit approximately 1.1 million tons of minerals in the lake each year. For instance, in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded size at 950 square miles (2,460 km²), but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic h… [36], At the end of their first year of operation, the pumps had removed about 500,000 acre feet (620,000,000 m3) of water from the Great Salt Lake. [56] The extremely high methylmercury concentrations have been only in the lake's anoxic deep brine layer (monimolimnion) below a depth of 20 feet (6.1 m), but concentrations are also moderately high up in the water column where there is oxygen to support brine shrimp and brine flies. Lambourne included musings about these guano sifters in his work. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-great-lakes-by-depth.html [24], Water levels have been recorded since 1875,[2] averaging about 4,200 feet (1,280 m) above sea level. The toxic metal shows up throughout the lake's food chain, from brine shrimp to eared grebes and cinnamon teal. (Pink Floyd is often referred to as a "he", although the bird's sex is not actually known. [11], Beginning in November 1895, artist and author Alfred Lambourne spent 4 months living on the remote Gunnison Island, where he wrote a book of musing and poetry, Our Inland Sea. It’s typically 3 to 5 times saltier than the ocean and is one of the biggest migratory bird magnets of Western North America. [2] Bonneville reached 923 ft (281 m) at its deepest point,[5][6] and covered much of present-day Utah and small portions of Idaho and Nevada during the ice ages of the Pleistocene Epoch. With the warming climate, the remaining lake began to dry, leaving the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake, Sevier Lake, and Rush Lake behind. [75] The new resort was completed in 1981, approximately a mile (1600 m) west of the original. During summer, the temperature differences can cause thunderstorms to form over the lake and drift eastward along the northern Wasatch Front. The current Saltair serves as a concert venue. [5] In the 1880s Grove Karl Gilbert predicted that the lake – then in the middle of many years of recession – would virtually disappear except for a small remnant between the islands. With the construction of a 180-foot-long (55 m) bridge, creating an opening of the causeway for water to flow between the arms of the lake, water levels have begun to equalize. On the northeastern shore of Great Salt Lake there is a land-art installation "The Spiral Dam" by artist Robert Smithson. Although brine shrimp can be found in the arm of the lake north of the causeway, studies conducted by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources indicate that these are likely transient. Fish in these bays are fed upon by diving terns and pelicans. Utah is truly nature's playground—and Salt Lake is the perfect base camp. [47] Today, these are mostly sold in East Asia and South America. Area: 21,500 sq mi (55,685 sq km). In time "Timpanogos" was dropped from the maps and its original association with Utah Lake was forgotten. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. [76][79], Satellite photo from August 2018 after years of, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "Great Salt Lake: A Lively Recreational Jewel", "Great Tales Surrounding the Great Salt Lake", "USGS Surface-Water Daily Data for the Nation", "Commonly Asked Questions About Utah's Great Salt Lake and Ancient Lake Bonneville", "Lake has great impact on storms, weather", "Great Salt Lake Annual Level Prediction", https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie50023a005, "Aim To Change Great Salt Lake Into Fresh Water", "Fact Sheet: West Desert Pumping Project", "Great Salt Lake, UT: What Shorebird Species Use This Site? Because of the Great Salt Lake's high salinity, it has few fish, but they do occur in Bear River Bay and Farmington Bay when spring runoff brings fresh water into the lake. [15] By capturing these climate oscillations while using tree-ring reconstruction of lake level, the lake level fluctuation could be predicted onward for 5–8 years. 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