Great Salt Lake Desert
Encyclopedia
The Great Salt Lake Desert is a large dry lake
in northern Utah
between the Great Salt Lake
and the Nevada
border which is noted for white sand from evaporite
Lake Bonneville
salt
deposits. Several small mountain ranges crisscross through and along the edges of the desert, such as the Cedar Mountains, Lakeside Mountains, Silver Island Mountains
, Hogup Mountains, and Newfoundland Mountains. On the western edge of the desert, just across the border with Nevada, stands Pilot Peak
in the Pilot Range
.
The desert is cool during the winter and includes unusual plants adapted to the dry conditions. Most of the desert receives less than 8 inches (203.2 mm) of annual precipitation. The military's Utah Test and Training Range is in the northern portion of the desert. The lowest part of Juab County is located just south of the Dugway Proving Grounds, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the northwest corner of the Fish Springs Range.
, Robert Evans died in the desert;http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/jed.html and in the 1840s, westward emigrants used the Hastings Cutoff
through 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) of Great Salt Lake desert to reduce the distance to California
. Howard Stansbury
explored the desert in 1849.http://www.scienceviews.com/historical/gsldesert.html The 1846 Donner Party
difficulties in making the crossing contributed to their becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. In 1956, Interstate 80 in Utah
replaced the Wendover Cut-off
across the desert, including a straight east-west section for ~50 miles (80.5 km) between the Cedar Mountains to the east and Wendover
on the Utah/Nevada border. Following a railway completed across the desert's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1910, the flats were first used as a speedway in 1914.
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
in northern Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
between the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
and the Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
border which is noted for white sand from evaporite
Evaporite
Evaporite is a name for a water-soluble mineral sediment that result from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporate deposits, marine which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine which are found in standing bodies of...
Lake Bonneville
Lake Bonneville
Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of North America's Great Basin region. Most of the territory it covered was in present-day Utah, though parts of the lake extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada. Formed about 32,000 years ago, it existed until about 14,500 years...
salt
Halite
Halite , commonly known as rock salt, is the mineral form of sodium chloride . Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pink, red, orange, yellow or gray depending on the amount and type of impurities...
deposits. Several small mountain ranges crisscross through and along the edges of the desert, such as the Cedar Mountains, Lakeside Mountains, Silver Island Mountains
Silver Island Range, Utah
The Silver Island Range is a mountain range in Utah, in the northwest corner of Tooele County and the southwest corner of Box Elder County, about northeast of Wendover.- Geography :...
, Hogup Mountains, and Newfoundland Mountains. On the western edge of the desert, just across the border with Nevada, stands Pilot Peak
Pilot Peak, Nevada
Pilot Peak is the highest point and the predominant mountain of the Pilot Range in far eastern Elko County, Nevada in the western United States. It rises over above the Great Salt Lake Desert to the east, making it one of the largest mountains in terms of local relief in the contiguous United...
in the Pilot Range
Pilot Range
The Pilot Range is a mountain range located in Box Elder County, Utah and Elko County, Nevada, in the Great Basin region, near the northwest side of The Great Salt Lake....
.
The desert is cool during the winter and includes unusual plants adapted to the dry conditions. Most of the desert receives less than 8 inches (203.2 mm) of annual precipitation. The military's Utah Test and Training Range is in the northern portion of the desert. The lowest part of Juab County is located just south of the Dugway Proving Grounds, about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northwest of the northwest corner of the Fish Springs Range.
History
During Jedediah Smith's 1826-7 expeditionJedediah Smith
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter, trapper, fur trader, trailblazer, author, cartographer, cattleman, and explorer of the Rocky Mountains, the American West Coast and the Southwest during the 19th century...
, Robert Evans died in the desert;http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/jed.html and in the 1840s, westward emigrants used the Hastings Cutoff
Hastings Cutoff
The Hastings Cutoff was an alternate route for emigrants to travel to California, as proposed by Lansford Hastings.In 1845, Hastings published a guide entitled The Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California...
through 130 kilometres (80.8 mi) of Great Salt Lake desert to reduce the distance to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Howard Stansbury
Howard Stansbury
Howard Stansbury was a major in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. His most notable achievement was leading a two-year expedition to survey the Great Salt Lake and its surroundings...
explored the desert in 1849.http://www.scienceviews.com/historical/gsldesert.html The 1846 Donner Party
Donner Party
The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada...
difficulties in making the crossing contributed to their becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. In 1956, Interstate 80 in Utah
Interstate 80 in Utah
In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 80 runs east–west through northern part of the state, passing through the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, the Wasatch Mountains and Echo canyon. In western Utah the highway was built along the corridor of the Victory...
replaced the Wendover Cut-off
Wendover Cut-off
The Wendover Cut-off, also called the Wendover Road or Wendover Route, was a section of two-lane highway in the western part of the U.S. state of Utah. Stretching 41.4 miles from Wendover to Knolls across the Great Salt Lake Desert, just north of the Western Pacific Railroad, it was an important...
across the desert, including a straight east-west section for ~50 miles (80.5 km) between the Cedar Mountains to the east and Wendover
Wendover, Utah
Wendover is a city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,537 at the 2000 census, with a 2006 estimated population of 1,632....
on the Utah/Nevada border. Following a railway completed across the desert's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1910, the flats were first used as a speedway in 1914.