Tag Archive: Great Salt Lake

Great Salt Lake State Marina Sign – Utah

Great Salt Lake State Marina Sign - Utah

The Great Salt Lake Marina, located within Great Salt Lake State Park near Salt Lake City, Utah, serves as a gateway to the unique and scenic waters of the Great Salt Lake. This small but well-equipped marina offers boat launch ramps, docking facilities, and a visitor center with exhibits about the lake’s history and ecosystem. Popular activities include sailing, kayaking, paddleboarding, and birdwatching, with the lake’s high salinity providing a buoyant and unusual experience for water enthusiasts. The surrounding park includes picnic areas and trails, making it a relaxing spot for families and adventurers alike.

However, the marina faces challenges due to the lake’s declining water levels caused by drought and water diversions, which can limit access for larger boats. Despite these issues, the marina remains a vital recreational hub and an excellent spot to experience the Great Salt Lake’s natural beauty. Efforts to preserve the lake’s ecosystem and address environmental concerns are ongoing, ensuring the marina continues to serve as a key destination for locals and tourists exploring Utah’s iconic saline lake.

Dead Carp Fish on Beach – Great Salt Lake – Utah

Dead Carp Fish on Beach - Great Salt Lake - Utah

A view of a dead carp fish from the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah. The Great Salt Lake, a small remnant of the much larger Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, is as the name suggests very salty, and mostly uninhabitable as far as fish are concerned, but all of the water that flows into the lake, comes from fresh water rivers, and springs that flow from the surrounding Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountain Ranges. This particular fish likely entered the Great Salt Lake from the Jordan River, which connects to Utah lake and receives fresh water from both ranges.

The survivability of carp near the edges of the Great Salt Lake has likely also impacted by a number of environmental issues, especially in the last decade. Including a decreasing flow of water to the lake as its diverted for agriculture and housing development, as well as hotter, drier summers due to climate change and drought. Increasing salinity, salt water intrusion, and pollution concentration as the lake has shrunk are also potential factors.

Great Blue Heron Rookery – Great Salt Lakey – Utah

Great Blue Heron Rookery - Great Salt Lakey - Utah

An artificial Great Blue Heron Rookery located at the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, on the the edge of the Great Salt Lake. North of Salt Lake City, Utah

The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America, as well as far northwestern South America, the Caribbean and the Galápagos Islands.

Every year from February to June, great blue herons nest in a rookery near the DWR’s George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Wildlife Education Center.