As the Great Salt Lake shrinks, scientists are uncovering mysterious groundwater-fed oases hidden beneath its drying lakebed.
About Great Salt Lake:
It is a saline lake located in northern Utah, United States.
It is 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 6,200 sq.km. at its highest levels in 1873 and the mid-1980s to about 2,300 sq.km. at its lowest level in 2022.
It has a length of 120 km and a maximum width of 45 km.
The lake reaches an average depth of 4.9 m and a maximum depth of 10 m.
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.
The salts are primarily sodium chloride, but there are also sulfates, magnesium, and potassium.
Dear Student,
You have still not entered your mailing address. Please enter the address where all the study materials will be sent to you. (If applicable).
