Abstract

The Great Salt Lake is a modern-day remnant of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, located in the northwestern portion of the State of Utah and within the Basin and Range Physiographic Province. Unlike many saline lakes throughout the world, it is located adjacent to major population centers, transportation routes, and other cultural features. The greatest influence of the lake historically has been the rise and fall of its surface elevation, which prompted the State of Utah to carry out two lake-level control measures since 1984. The greatest influence of man on the lake has been the building of structures within, adjacent to, or upstream from the lake or through the subsequent alteration of these structures. Because of these multiple actions within the past 30 years, the lake has changed from a single, relatively homogeneous body of saline water to a segmented, complex, and dynamic system of multi-saline, stratified brines. The economic viability of recreation, mineral, and other economic ventures on the lake has been dependent upon the natural level of the lake and upon the industrial, recreational, and agricultural influences on that level and the distribution of the saline resources within it.