Jesse and I took advantage of a beautiful day to take our first trip to that strangest of locations, the Great Salt Lake. The best place to visit the lake is at Antelope Island State Park, the largest of the Great Salt Lake's 9 islands and home to deer, antelope, bobcats, coyotes, birds, and Bison. The bison herd is huge, numbering some 600 animals.
Educational Moment: The Great Salt Lake is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Utah. The lake is a remnant of the massive ancient Lake Bonneville, which covered some 20,000 square miles of land in what is now Utah, Nevada and Idaho some 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. The present lake is about 75 miles long and 35 miles wide, with a maximum depth of 33 feet. It is the largest lake between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Ocean, and is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Four rivers and numerous streams empty into the Great Salt Lake, carrying dissolved minerals. The lake has no outlet so these minerals are trapped. Continual evaporation concentrates the minerals. The salinity of the water averages about 12%, making it much saltier than the ocean. The water is so buoyant that people can easily float, although we didn't swim on this trip. The only thing that can live in the water (due to the salinity) is brine shrimp.
It's a very strange but beautiful place, and definitely a cool place to visit.
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