Discover the Unique Wonders: Top 14 Fun Facts About the Great Salt Lake You Never Knew!

1. Shrimp Supply Royalty

While other shrimp dream of becoming the star of a shrimply irresistible scampi dish, brine shrimp in the Great Salt Lake are living their best salty life, raking in the big bucks: The lake not only hosts millions of these tiny but opulent crustaceans but is also responsible for more than 20% of the global brine shrimp supply, generating millions in revenue from their role as choice snacks for fish and pets.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Mormon Party Paradise

Before there was a "Dry Bar" for devout party animals, there was the Saltair Pavilion: A family-friendly oasis built in 1893 on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, specifically designed for those not-so-sinful Mormons craving an alternative to the debaucherous delights of Atlantic City. This wholesome hotspot sadly went up in flames in 1925, closed its doors in 1958, but, like a phoenix, rose again as The Great Saltair, and is now grooving to a new beat as a happening music venue.
Source => movie-locations.com

Did you know South Lake Tahoe gets a staggering 142 inches of snow annually? Discover more about this year-round paradise for outdoor enthusiasts! 🏂☀️

=> Fun Facts about Lake-Tahoe

3. Floating Fun Fiesta

Who needs a life jacket when you've got a salty surprise up your sleeve? Experience a buoyant blend of maritime mirth and unusually high levels of levity at Utah's majestic Great Salt Lake: With salt concentrations ranging from 5% in the southern arm to nearly 28% in the north arm, it's almost 10 times saltier than the ocean, allowing people to effortlessly float like they're living it up in the Dead Sea.
Source => water.utah.gov

4. Brine Fly Bash Bust

If you think your family reunions are crowded, you haven't met the brine flies of the Great Salt Lake: These tiny party animals congregate in thick swarms, laying out an all-you-can-eat buffet for millions of migrating birds. Sadly, due to the lake's deteriorating ecological health, these brine fly bashes are dwindling, leaving the avian appetites unsatisfied and signaling potential collapse in the lake's food chains.
Source => sltrib.com

5. Pink Salt Lake Spa

Have you heard of the Great Pink Salt Lake? Mayhaps it's a mystical body of water where flamingos go for their spa days, but fear not, the explanation is quite scientific: The Great Salt Lake actually contains halophiles, unique microorganisms that revel in salty environments and grant the water and salt crusts their blush with hues of pink, red, and orange, with some even out-salting the notorious Dead Sea!
Source => npr.org

6. Real Bird-Islands

It's not The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, but The Real Bird-Islands of the Great Salt Lake: The Great Salt Lake is home to nine islands that serve as habitats for various bird species, including nesting sites for California gulls, great blue herons, double-crested cormorants, American white pelicans, and Caspian terns, providing foraging, resting, and migration assistance to over 110 different avian species.
Source => wildlife.utah.gov

7. Salt of Life Survivors

Whoever said "never take life with a grain of salt" clearly never met the residents of the Great Salt Lake, who not only survived but thrived in the salty situation: Contrary to popular belief, the lake's high salinity levels aren't toxic to humans or animals, and actually support a thriving ecosystem that includes brine shrimp—nature's all-you-can-eat buffet for migrating birds like pelicans and bald eagles.
Source => freedomgeneral.com

8. Provost's Wild Adventure

Before the Kardashians made their way into every nook and cranny of the American West, a mountain man and fur trapper named Etienne Provost was out there slaying it – or more accurately, surviving it: In 1824, Provost and his partner Francois Leclerc were among the first non-native people to lay eyes on Utah Lake near the Great Salt Lake, and despite a surprise encounter with some less-than-friendly Shoshone Indians, ol' Etienne kept calm and carried himself all across the wild frontier.
Source => historytogo.utah.gov

9. Cyst-pendous Shrimp Party

Move over, Chicken of the Sea: tiny brine shrimp from the Great Salt Lake are throwing a cyst-pendous party in the world of fish food! : These hardy crustaceans generate about $67 million annually from their cysts and thrive in the Great Salt Lake, the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River – which, interestingly, was once part of Lake Bonneville that dried up and contracted.
Source => atlasobscura.com

10. Cosmic Slinky Art

In a twist of geological humor, mother nature teamed up with an artist to create a 1,500-foot-long cosmic 'Slinky' that occasionally plays a disappearing act on the shores of the Great Salt Lake: The Spiral Jetty, an awe-inspiring earthwork Sculpture created by Robert Smithson, is made up of over 6,000 tons of black basalt rocks and earth, coiling counterclockwise into the saline waters, giving new meaning to "sinking your stones" since it got submerged in 1972, only to dramatically re-emerge in 2002, refusing to be kept under wraps!
Source => diaart.org

11. Unsinkable Charm

Tired of sinking in life's troubles? Try the Great Salt Lake's unsinkable charm: With a salinity far saltier than seawater, swimming here is comparable to floating, thanks to the lake's high density and the 1.1 million tons of minerals its tributaries deposit annually. Bonus: this hypersaline haven is a top destination for shorebirds, waterfowl, and revelers of the Wilson's phalarope variety!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

12. Warm Springs Resurgence

Dipping into history with a splash of humor: The Warm Springs bathhouse in Salt Lake City, once a hot spot for soggy socializing and allegedly magical waters that cured more than just prune fingers, has been tucked away and left to dampen since 2004. But fret not, water-lovers! Local residents are diving headfirst into efforts to restore this aquatic wonder: As a public bathhouse, soaking in its 104 to 108-degree Fahrenheit natural hot springs, this iconic spot is set to make waves again with revitalized spas, gardens, a restaurant, a gift shop, and meeting spaces, all with the blessing of its original Utes, Paiutes, and Shoshones patrons.
Source => sltrib.com

13. Colorful Shrimp Pooping

Who knew brine shrimp had such a colorful life, quite literally! Their party pooping habits are behind the creation of a unique sedimentary sensation at the Great Salt Lake: Oolitic sand, home to tiny, light-brown, rounded grains called ooids formed by calcium carbonate layers precipitating around nuclei like shrimp fecal pellets or mineral fragments in shallow, wave-agitated water. These fascinating grains are salt-free, and even found their way into some unexpected scenarios like drying flowers and assisting in mining operations!
Source => geology.utah.gov

14. Salt-Loving Critter Oasis

Contrary to what Yoda might say, "Brine you must, in the Great Salt Lake,"—an unexpected haven for a diverse array of salt-craving critters thrives in its water: Boasting more than 300 species of invertebrates, the lake features a staggering variety of life like brine shrimp and halobacteria, and even serves as a hub for American white pelicans and other birds who choose it as their breeding and feeding playground.
Source => en.wikipedia.org