Which U.S. state is home to the Great Salt Lake?
Quick answer
The Great Salt Lake is in northern Utah, just northwest of Salt Lake City. It’s the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and one of the saltiest bodies of water on Earth, often several times saltier than the ocean. Its size varies greatly with rainfall and water use, and it hit a record low in 2022.
Why it’s salty
The Great Salt Lake is a terminal lake: rivers flow in, but no river flows out. Water leaves only by evaporation, leaving dissolved minerals behind. Over thousands of years, the salt built up. The lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville, a huge Ice Age lake that once covered much of Utah.
Its salinity varies, from about 5% to 27%. The isolated north arm, cut off by a railroad causeway, is so salty it turns pink from salt-loving microbes.
A shrinking lake
| Typical area | About 4,400 km² (1,700 sq mi), but it varies widely |
| Record low | 2022, after drought and water diversion |
| Main threat | Rivers diverted for farming and cities |
As the lake shrinks, the dry lakebed exposes dust containing arsenic and other substances that can blow toward populated areas. Utah has since passed laws to send more water to the lake.
Floating and wildlife
Because the water is so dense, swimmers float easily, much like in the Dead Sea. Few creatures survive there, but those that do thrive:
- Brine shrimp, harvested by the ton for fish food worldwide
- Brine flies
- Millions of migrating birds, including eared grebes, American avocets and Wilson’s phalaropes
Around the lake
- Antelope Island is home to a free-roaming herd of bison.
- Spiral Jetty, a famous 1970 land artwork by Robert Smithson, curls into the north shore.
- The Bonneville Salt Flats to the west host land-speed records.
The lake sits within the largest desert in North America, the Great Basin.
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