Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake Elevations The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been collecting water-surface-elevation data from Great Salt Lake since 1875 and continuously since October 1902. By combining USGS data with other data sources, a water-surface elevation record dating back to 1847 is associated with USGS Station 10010000, a gage in the Saltair Boat Harbor, at the southern end of the lake...

The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is an indispensable economic and ecological resource. It provides critical habitat and food for millions of migratory birds, and generates nearly $200 million per year from recreational activities and the brine shrimp harvest industry (Bioeconomics, 2012). These uses, habitat and aquaculture, rely on a balanced supply of nutrients in the Great Salt Lake to support...

In July 2021, the southern portion of the Great Salt Lake reached a new historic low, with average daily water levels dropping about an inch below the previous record set in 1963, according to U.S. Geological Survey information collected at the SaltAir gage. The lake continued to recede until October 2021, and in July 2022, the level of the lake fell below the October 2021 record low.

The completion of the Railroad Causeway in 1959 divided the Great Salt Lake in half. Because all of the freshwater inflows enter the southern part of the lake, the north arm became much more saline than the south; well defined in the satellite images. Several years of greater than normal precipitation resulted in a large increase in the lake’s area during the early 1980's and the creation of a new...

In 1959, a solid-fill railroad causeway was constructed across the middle of the Great Salt Lake. The construction of the causeway divided the lake into two parts; the north (Gunnison Bay) and the south (Gilbert Bay). By 2013, water flowed from one side to the other through only two culverts near the center of the causeway. In December 2013, concern about the structural integrity of the culverts...