Bonneville salt flats

Courtesy of John Heidenstrom:

Many people have heard of the Bonneville Salt Flats. But how they were created is a fact that usually gets left out. The salt flats are exactly what they sound like; they are a large flat surface of slightly hardened salt. This is the result of an ancient lake (Lake Bonneville) that dried up and what’s left behind what the large amount of potassium, magnesium lithium and sodium chloride (common table salt). At a glance it looks like a large snowy field. The Bonneville salt flats are so big that people say they can actually see the curve in the earth on them. Think of what you see when you look at the ocean for an example of seeing the curve in the earth. Ancient lake Bonneville was estimated to be the size of the current Lake Michigan and take up most of what is now Utah and some of its surrounding states. The current salt bed covers 159 square miles. It is fascinating that there was lake in a place that is now so hot and arid. It is also true that there was a lake of a similar size over parts of upstate New York called Lake Albany. The Bonneville salt flats are not the only salt flats on earth. There is an even larger salt flat in Botswana Africa. This is not used for racing for a lot of reasons but the biggest is that it’s just not a flat and predictable as Bonneville. The main reason that it is so flat is that in the winter there is a thin layer of water that covers most of the salt flats and that is what keeps it smooth for the speed freaks year after year. Naturally the large flat surface of Bonneville has attracted the inhabitance of humans. Being on the salt flats for any period of time is said to be a quite unpleasant experience. That has not stopped speed freaks from driving all types of crazy cars trying to set speed records. The vast and seemingly unending straightness of the salt flats allows people to drive all types of high performance land based vehicles at speeds that are too dangerous anyplace else in the world. This has lead to the creation of numerous organizations and events that are all about driving fast on the salt flats. The Bonneville salt flats are a very unique peace of landscape. The way that it was created seems controversial based on the research that I have done. The reason the lake dried up is mostly based of the change in climate. The region that it is in is very hot and without water in the summer.