Today we went to the Great Salt Lake. It was amazing and gross at the same time. Waves of gnats infest the shoreline but they are crucial to the environment. Wildlife all around are ultimately dependent on these insects.
We learned that before the Salt Lake existed a larger glacial Lake Bonneville was present. A catastrophic flooding event caused it to drain northward to Canada, leaving the Salt Lake behind. Uplift in the region during the Laramide orogeny created the Wasatch range (part of the Rocky Mountains) we see today.
The Great Salt Lake is a playa lake which occurs when the surrounding mountains erode salts into intermountaine basin, which is essentially a valley. The dry, arid region contributes to extensive evaporation which leaves the water salty. We found oolitic limestone sands and rocks. We put are feet in the water and took many pictures. We also saw our first bison.
Here we are at Weber State College, where we will stay our first night. We almost got caught in the spinkler system writing this blog, who who!
Where's Lonny??
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