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Hanna Vance
Geology 1010
on the water has evaporated immensely. What used to be a huge lake, is now a smaller and more saline
one. The Salt Flats have many different sediments and minerals used for different purposes. Ever since
the Mormon pioneers settled in Utah, the salt flats have provided many benefits to its citizens. Whether
that comes down to salt used for potash or just for recreational use, the Salt Flats have a very interesting
and necessary past that makes the flats what they are today.
The Lake Bonneville Salt Flats are made up of the leftover remnants from the Pleistocene era.
Back in time, during the tertiary time period, there was a set of glaciers called the Wisconsin glaciers.
Lake Bonneville became one of the largest pluvial lakes, measuring 20,000 square miles and with a
depth of approximately 1,000 feet, almost as large as today's Lake Michigan. (Hunt C. 1953) Once the
last Wisconsin glacier was deposited into the lake it changed the climate from wet and cool to become
more dry and hot. Evaporation was increasingly rapid and caused the Lake’s levels to lower dramatically.
(Hunt C. 1953) In order to keep the same climate the zone of accumulation and zone of ablation have to
be the same. There was a glacial outflow event that occurred about 15,000 years ago. Because of this
outflow event, it lowered the former Lake Bonneville’s water to extreme lows. This event is what made
the Great Salt Lake and the Bonneville Salt Flats what they are today. (Yager 2016)
The wave cut terraces help scientists be able to determine at what level the lake was at during
distinct periods in time. The wave-cut erodes into the mountain and creates a type of little cliff. (Gilbert
1890) These shorelines are easy to identify when looking at the Silver Island Mountains and they also
extend all the way to the Salt Lake Valley. Scientists have been able to see the fluctuation of shorelines
throughout time by looking at wave-cuts in the mountains and by looking at the different sediments.
The main shorelines are the Stansbury, Bonneville, Flooding shoreline, Provo, and the Gilbert shorelines.
(Currey 1984) The Bonneville shoreline was the shoreline that had the highest amount of water and was
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relatively fresh hard water rather than very saline. The surface area was around 19,000 square miles
Lake Bonneville is composed of sediments all the way from the Pleistocene era. Along with
sediments, there are also fossils and fresh-water species evidence. Because of the glacial outwash, there
are deposits with agglomerates volcanic tuffs, and muds as well. (Hunt C. 1953) There were three
specific time periods where sediments were being deposited into the valley. The three formations are
called the Alpine, Bonneville, and Provo formations. (Gilbert 1890) The alpine mainly consisting of
fine-grained silts. Bonneville was depositing gravel along its very high beach shoreline. The Provo is
distinguished through its textures whether that may be silt, gravel, clay, or sand. (Hunt C. 1953)
The Lake Bonneville Salt Flats are located in the Northwest part of Utah over by Wendover. As
you drive out to the Bonneville Salt Flats from the Salt Lake Valley and you pass the Great Salt Lake you
will see what is left from Lake Bonneville, which is the last of the water from the prehistoric lake. If you
keep going past the Great Salt Lake over to Wendover, to the Salt Flats, you will see vast amounts of flat
land which appears to be made up of salt minerals. The land stretches across for The vegetation is
desolate on the salt flats. There are no plants that can survive in the sediments high with salinity.
Sediments that are prominent in the flats are sodium and chloride. (Clark J. 1971) This explains why
when you look out over the salt flats they go on for miles with no interruption of trees or bushes. The
salt does not just go to waste, there are several uses of the minerals that the salt provides.
Lake Bonneville has the second highest content of brine in the groundwater underneath the
flats. This occurs in the basin because the Bonneville Salt flats don't have an external drainage. The
water all flowed into the lake. (Yager. 2016) The Lake wouldn't have the same salinity if it was able to
drain and flow somewhere else. In order to extract the salt, they would dig into the crust to take up the
groundwater. There are different aquifers as sources for brine, the main three are the basin-fill,
alluvial-fan, and shallow-brine aquifers. The main one used for potash production is the shallow-brine
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aquifer. (Lines. 1979) In order to extract the water from the salt, you have to boil down the water. They
will take the brine and once all the water has evaporated it leaves behind all the salt, and also some
impurities. This makes the salt taste very bitter. But In comparison to ocean water, the salt flats appear
to have a higher concentration of salt minerals in the brine than the East side of the continent and
because of this, it is cheaper to extract the bitter taste which makes our salt of a higher value. (Clark J.
1971)
The salt extracted from Lake Bonneville Salt Flats was mainly used for potash back when the
Mormon pioneers settled. Potash is a compound of potassium that is put into fertilizers. (Yager 2016) It
is a necessary component of today's agriculture and food production. If you drive past the old factories
you can see that they are still using them to extract and sell potash. The minerals in the groundwater are
a huge part of Utahs economy. The more they extract from the groundwater then less rich in potassium
and magnesium the water becomes in some areas. Although the halite in the crust helps some areas
The Bonneville Speedway Racetrack is a specific area affected by the brine collection ditches.
There have been complaints of the salty crust becoming rougher and that it is losing salt from the brine
being taken out of the groundwater. (Lines 1979) It is important to make sure that the groundwater
level doesn't reach extremely low. If you read the signs at the Bonneville Salt Flats viewpoint, they talk
about the history of the speedway. The Salt Flats were settled by Captian B, L. Bonneville and named
after him as well. The famous Donner Party pioneers lost their animals and wagons on the salt before
they crossed over to the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The speedway wasn't created until 1896 and
the Mormon pioneers would have wagon races. Unfortunately, when I went there to observe the halite
crust, the land was covered in rainwater from winter storms. The Salt Flats have a very old and
interesting history that is worth knowing and seeing what it is all about.
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Bibliography:
Clark, John L. (1971 l, Aug. 2). History of Utah's Salt Industry 1847-1970. All Theses and Dissertations.
4603. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4603
Currey, Donald R., Atwood Genevieve, Mabey, Don R. (1984. May). Major Levels of the Great Salt
AAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false
Hunt, C., Varnes, H., & Thomas, H. (1953). Lake Bonneville: Geology of northern Utah Valley, Utah.
Lines, G.C. (1979). Hydrology and surface morphology of the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley Playa,
https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/2057/report.pdf
Yager, D.B. (2016). Potash—A vital agricultural nutrient sourced from geologic deposits: U.S. Geological
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1)This is a sign that is located
at Lake Bonneville Salt Flats. On the sign, it describes the history of how the Bonneville Salt Flats were
discovered.
2) A photo of a plant that is dying because the ground is too saline for the plant to survive.
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3) The trucks are carrying salt and bringing it to the potash factories.
4) This looks like salt, I’m unsure as to what mineral it is but I’m assuming that it is the mineral Halite
(table salt).
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5) A picture showing how desolate and vast the salt flats go on for. The salt is covered by a thin layer of
6) A picture showing that the salt flats are closed to motor vehicles because of the rain. The rain causes
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A MAP OF LAKE BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS: