Great Salt Lake

GREAT SALT LAKE, in N. of Utah, U.S., stretches upwards of 80 m. along the western base of the Wahsatch Mountains, about 4200 ft. above the sea-level; it is from 20 to 32 m. broad, and very shallow; Antelope Island, 18 m. long, is the largest island; the coast is rugged and desolate; its clear waters hold no fish, and the surplus inflow is carried off by evaporation only.

It is a shallow body of water, its average depth being but a little more than thirty three feet, while in many parts it is much less. The water is transparent, but excessively salt; it contains about 22 per cent of common salt, slightly mixed with other salts, and forming one of the purest and most concentrated brines in the world. Its specific gravity is 1.17. The water is so buoyant that a man may float in it at full length upon his back, having his head and neck, his legs to the knee, and both arms to the elbow, entirely out of water. If he assumes a sitting posture, with his arms extended, his shoulders will rise above the water. Swimming, however, is difficult as the lower limbs tend to rise above the surface, and the brine is so strong that to swallow even a very little of it will cause strangulation.