MODULE OVERVIEW

This module introduces students to the geography, geology, ecology, and history of The Greater Salt Lake Ecoregion. Saline lakes are some of the most unusual, and misunderstood, physical regions of the world. It is often assumed that these are "dead" environments--like the DEAD SEA of Israel and Jordan. In fact, saline lakes in general and The Great Salt Lake in particular, supports a tremendous diversity of life. 

The Great Salt Lake Ecoregion is also one of North America's fastest growing urban regions. Along theWasatch Front can be found such rapidly growing cities such as Ogden, Sundance/Provo and Orem, Salt Lake City and its suburbs. And of course, in 2002 the region hosted the Winter Olympics.

This makes the region an ideal place to study human-environment interaction and the human dimensions of global environmental change. Whether you're visiting this web site for fun or study, we hope you have an enjoyable and stimulating trip.

INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS 

KEY QUESTIONS AND THEMES

Geography

• Where is the Great Salt Lake and what cultural and physical features are found around its shores?
• How big is it? Later we'll talk about how it has changed over time.
• What can we learn about it from maps and by visual observation of the landscape?

Ecology
 
• What types of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems can be seen around and on the lake?
• What types of birds can be seen and when?
• And what about animals--both wild and domesticated--what impact do they have on the land and its ecosystems?
• What has been the role of fire and grazing on the landscape?

 
Limnology and Climate
 
• Why is the Great Salt Lake salty?
• How salty is it?
• How does a hydrometer work?
• What minerals are extracted from the lake?
• What rivers drain into the lake?
• Does the Great Salt Lake have an outlet?
• What freshwater resources are found around the lake?
• What are Oolitic sands and how are they formed?

 
Climate and Landscape Change
 
• What evidence is there for climate change in the region?
• Where can I see Pleistocene glacial features?
• How big was Lake Bonneville? and what evidence of its presence did it leave on the landscape?
• What is the origin of the "benches" seen on the hillsides?
• What major lakeshores can be identified?
• What other landscape features are typical along the lakeshore?
• Where does the water come from--and go to--in respect to the lake?
• How much has the lake fluctuated in historical times?
• How has the salinity of the lake changed?
• What might happen in the future?

 
Human History
 
• What evidence is there of early man's presence along the lake?
• What impact have different groups had--such as the Spanish and Mountainmen and later--the Mormon pioneers?
• What about modern times--the 20th century--what changes have come about?
• What is the impact of the current rapid economic and urban growth rate on the lake and its resources?

 
Environmental Conservation Issues and Questions
 
• How can the wetlands around the lake be best preserved?
• What is the impact of agricultural and rangelands history on the region's ecosystems?
• What has been the impact of resource extraction from the lake such as minerals/salt extraction or fishing for brine shrimp?
• Issues regarding open-space management and land-use are currently very contentious--what is the basis for the debates, e.g. the potential impact of the Legacy Highway Project?
• Can current rates of population growth and use of the lake's resources be sustained? Are certain species in danger of extinction--what are the biodiversity issues?
• What are the implications of continued mining and industrial activities, e.g. Kennecott around the lake?
• Tourism has become a major factor in Utah's economy--what are its impacts on the Great Salt Lake?
  
Hydrology, Geology, Geomorhology

• What major geological forces have shaped the region?
• What is the origin and landform evolution of the Great Basin?
• What does "Basin and Range" topography mean?
• What is the significance of the Wasatch Fault to the "Rocky Mountain Orogeny" and how hazardous is it in comparison to other major faults in the US?
• What types of rocks and minerals are associated with the Great Basin and Great Salt Lake region?
• What types of earthquake hazards and threats does Utah face?
• How and when did the major alluvial fans and deltas around the lake form?
• Has glaciation been a factor in the landscape evolution of the Wasatch Mountains and what is the evidence for glaciation?
• What is the history of stream erosion and deposition in the basin?
• Groundwater and aquifer characteristics are quite unique in the Great Basin--what are some of those unique features--particularly around the Great Salt Lake?

SUPPORTING MATERIALS:

Field / Lab Equipment:

• CampMor / Silva Corporation - Compasses and orienteering equipment including GPS instruments.
• Field Techniques for Environmental Study - GEOG 373 by William Doolittle, University of Texas.
• GPS/Orienteering and related resources.
• Geography and Mapping resources.
• School Specialty Supply - the Nation's Education Resource.

 

Maps and Charts (and GPS):

In addition to the topographic maps listed in the Great Salt Lake Map Exercise you may find the following Educational Resources listed by the Utah Geological Survey very useful: 
 

• Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah (1995). Available from: Utah Department of Natural Resources, 1594 W. North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT (bookstore) Tel. 801-538-7200. Also from Utah Geological Survey and Davis County Tourism Board, Antelope Island Visitors Center, P.O. Box 618, Farmington, UT 84025. Price $1.00 

 
• Promontory Point, Utah 30X60 Minute Quadrangle (1:100,000 metric topographic map). #41112-A1-TM-100 (1987). USGS (US Geological Survey). Available at most recreational outlets and at Utah Geological Survey or the Department of Natural Resources (see above). 

 
• Tooele, Utah 30X60 Minute Quadrangle (1:100,000 metric topographic map). USGS (US Geological Survey). Available at most recreational outlets and at Utah Geological Survey or the Department of Natural Resources (see above). 

 
• Geologic Map of The Central Wasatch Front, Utah, May 1983, compiled by Fitzhugh D. Davis (Utah Geological Survey). Scale 1:100,000.

 
• Selected Critical Facilities and Geologic Hazards maps: one for Salt Lake County and the other Davis County. Available from Utah Epicenter: Earthquake Preparedness Information Center, Utah Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management (also from Utah Geological and Mineral Survey Bookstore site noted above).

 
• Major Levels of Great Salt Lake and Lake Bonneville , by Donald R. Currey, Genevieve Atwood, and Don R. Mabey, May 1983. Utah Dept of Natural Resources / Utah Geological Survey (available at same site as above).

 
• USGS Geological Quadrangle map: Geologic Map of Antelope Island, Davis County, Utah. Map 127, 1990 (scale 1:24,000). Includes separate sheet with geological profiles across the area and lake-level profiles for Lake Bonneville.

Printed Material:

 
• Antelope Island Draft Access Management Plan - 2004 (PDF)
  
  
• Booklet: Geology and Antelope Island State Park, Utah. 1988 (well illustrated in full color with maps and photos - available also from the Department of Natural Resources for Maps and Books the Antelope Island Visitor Center and other sites here.

 
• The Great Salt Lake Story: An Interdisciplinary Activity Guide, by Sandra Zicus, Utah Museum of Natural History, 1995. 215 South 1350 East, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 Tel. 801-581-4887. 

 
• UGS (Utah Geological Survey) - Great Salt Lake Resources & Questions along with Publications.

 
• See also the list of publications by the USGS for information on the following topics: 
  
  • Changing lake elevations and other hydrological facts.
  • See also data on changing datums for the lake.
  • The  USGS Groundwater Atlas of the Great Basin and
  • Utah Water Atlas.
  • Aquatic ecology and habitat issues such as the ecology of
  • brine shrimp,
  • birds and wildlife,
  • salinity and water quality,
  • planktonic and benthic habitats,
  • boating and recreation.
  • USGS Bibliography on the GSL
   

 
• See also the Bibliography compiled by Sandy Zicus an environmental educator in the Salt Lake area.

Links to Saline Lakes
 

• Aral Sea (Central Asia), 
• Caspian Sea (Central Asia), 
• Dead Sea (Israel/Jordan), 
• Laguna Mar Chiquita (Argentina), 
• Lake Amadeus (Australia), 
• Lake Vanda (Antarctica)
• Lake Natron (Kenya) 

 
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Links to Specialists and Organizations
 

• For general resources see Web Resources for Earth System Science  

• See also Rocky Mountain Environmental Directory - EELink

• Some specific individual specialists and organizations:

  • See work by Don R. Currey, University of Utah and his many students and colleagues. See the recent memorial fieldtrip tour (#25) held in his honor at the GSA meetings in Salt Lake City (August 2005) organized by Holly Godsey- see her recent GSA presentations on Geoantiquities (also video outreach and education).

  • See for example the paper on Stockman Bar by Holly Godsey, Marjorie Chan, Donald Currie, and Genevieve Atwood: The Stockton Bar, a Geologic Treasure in Tooele County.

  • See work over the years by Genevieve Atwood, first woman to head Utah's Geological Survey. See her recent presentation on the Lakes of the Bonneville Basin - presented at the GSA meetings in Salt Lake City (August 17, 2005) and her ESRI User Conference presentation - Columnar Display of Multiple Attributes of a Great Salt Lake Shoreline.

  • See Major Levels of Great Salt Lake and Lake Bonneville by Don Currey and others (PDF).

  • See Resources on freshwater ecology of the GSL in the course at Utah State University (AWER 4500) by Amy Marcarelli.

  • See the Great Salt Lake Project at Westminster College of Salt Lake City. See some of the materials by Ty Harrison a biological ecologist and his students such as the Great Salt Lake Playa Foodweb Project. Several modules are contained on various themes and issues.

  • See the UGS (Utah Geological Survey) - Great Salt Lake Resources & Questions along with Publications. 

  • See the Great Salt Lake, Utah - web resources by USGS staff scientists with links to information on topics such as: 

    • Changing lake elevations and other hydrological facts.

    • Changing datums for the lake.

    • Groundwater Atlas of the Great Basin and Utah Water Atlas.

    • Aquatic ecology and habitat issues such as the ecology of brine shrimp, birds and wildlife , salinity and water quality , planktonic and benthic habitats, boating and recreation.

    • Water quality research results such as Circular 1236 (2004)--NAWQA Program: The Great Salt Lake Basins NAWQA--see Utah Water Science Center.

    • USGS Bibliography on the GSL

Utah, Colorado Plateau and Great Basin Websites:

See Ford's Web Regional Resources--North America. Find specific websites under the following topics and areas:

Arizona/New Mexico Colorado Plateau Great Basin Utah


 

Utah - Geology Utah


 

Northern/Wasatch Front (Great Salt Lake)


 

Utah: Southern (Wilderness-Colorado Plateau)


Yellowstone/Rocky Mountains: Wyoming/Montana



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GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SPECIALISTS