What is the origin of the Great Salt Lake?
After the Lake Bonneville flood, the Great Basin gradually became warmer and drier. Lake Bonneville began to shrink due to increased evaporation. Today’s Great Salt Lake is a large remnant of Lake Bonneville, and occupies the lowest depression in the Great Basin. The size, shape, and location of this depression have been controlled by Basin and Range faulting. Subsidence within the depression, caused by downfaulting, has accommodated deposition of as much as 12,000 feet of sediment carried into the lake by its tributaries. It has also allowed the lake to remain in a relatively constant position. Other relics of Lake Bonneville are Utah Lake, Sevier Lake, and the Great Salt Lake Desert containing the famous Bonneville Salt Flats. Why is the Great Salt Lake salty? Much of the salt now contained in the Great Salt Lake was originally in the water of Lake Bonneville. Even though Lake Bonneville was fairly fresh, it contained salt that concentrated as its water evaporated. A small amount of
