Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake is an endorheic saline lake in northern Utah, much saltier than the ocean. It is the remnant of the prehistoric pluvial Lake Bonneville in the Great Basin. It covers an area of around 1,700 square miles, but this is subject to substantial fluctuations. The lake has very high salinity because the natural evaporation rate exceeds the supply of water from the three feeder rivers, which deposit around 1.1 million tons of minerals in it each year. It has no outlet to the sea.

Great Salt Lake ecosystem

The high salinity of the lake makes it uninhabitable for all but a few species. However, the fresh- and salt-water wetlands along the eastern and northern edges of the Great Salt Lake provide critical habitat for millions of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl in western North America. These marshes account for approximately 75 percent of the wetlands in Utah. Some of the birds that depend on these marshes include: Wilson's phalarope, red-necked phalarope, American avocet, black-necked stilt, marbled godwit, snowy plover, western sandpiper, long-billed dowitcher, tundra swan, American white pelican, white-faced ibis, California gull, eared grebe, peregrine falcon, bald eagle, plus large populations of various ducks and geese.

Related Topics:
Wetlands - Shorebirds - Waterfowl - Wilson's phalarope - Red-necked phalarope - American avocet - Black-necked stilt - Marbled godwit - Snowy plover - Western sandpiper - Long-billed dowitcher - Tundra swan - American white pelican - White-faced ibis - California gull - Eared grebe - Peregrine falcon - Bald eagle - Ducks - Geese

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Great Salt Lake wetland/wildlife management areas include the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge; Gillmor Sanctuary; Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve; Salt Creek, Public Shooting Grounds, Harold Crane, Locomotive Springs, Ogden Bay, Timpie Springs and Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Areas.

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Several small island in the lake provide critical nesting areas for various birds. 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).

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The only aquatic animals able to live in the lake are tiny brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana). Their tiny, hard-walled eggs or cysts (diameter of about 200 micrometers) are harvested in quantity during the fall and early winter. They hatch easily, and are fed to prawns in Asia. They are also are sold as novelty "Sea-Monkeys." There are also two species of salt flies and some bacteria and algae.

Related Topics:
Brine shrimp - Prawns - Sea-Monkeys

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Salinity differences between the sections of the lake separated by the railroad causeway result in significantly different biota. A phytoplankton community dominated by blue-green or green algae tint the water south of the causeway a greenish color. North of the causeway, the lake is dominated by halophilic bacteria which gives the water an unusual reddish or purplish color. These color differences are especially noticeable in satellite photographs. 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 seem to indicate that these animals are likely transient. Populations of brine shrimp are mostly restricted to the lake's south arm.

Related Topics:
Phytoplankton - Halophilic bacteria

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