Imagine a place so flat you seem to see the curvature of the planet, so barren not even the simplest life forms can exist. Imagine the passing thunder of strange vehicles hurtling by on a vast dazzling white plain. This is not an alien world far from earth; it is Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats.The Bonneville Salt Flats is one of the most unique natural features in Utah. Stretching over 30,000 acres, the Bonneville Salt Flats is a fragile resource administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It is located along I-80 near the Utah-Nevada border. Wendover is the closest city.Thousands of visitors, commercial filmmakers, and of course, high speed auto racers, make the Bonneville Salt Flats a world famous destination. We hope you enjoy your visit to this natural wonder on Utah’s public land.
Where did the name come from?
In 1833, explorer Joseph R. Walker mapped around the Great Salt Lake. He also crossed the northern perimeter of the Salt Flats while working for Captain Benjamin L.E. Bonneville. At that time it was common for people to name significant landmarks after their employers. It is from Captain Bonneville that the salt flats and ancient lake derive their name. There is no known historical record of Bonneville himself ever seeing the Salt Flats or the Great Salt Lake.
Human history of Bonneville Salt Flats
Researchers have determined that primitive people lived there more than 10,000 years ago at nearby Danger Cave. How did they live? Did the receding Lake Bonneville provide them with food and water? These questions have only been partially answered by archaeologists.Trapper and frontiersman Jedediah Smith crossed the Salt Flats while returning to Utah from an expedition to California in 1827. John C. Fremont and his U.S. government-sponsored expedition crossed through the heart of the salt flats in 1845 while trying to find a shorter overland route to the Pacific Ocean tourist place in world. The next year Fremont’s route across the flats would come to be known as the Hastings Cutoff as part of the California Trail. Promoted by Lansford Hastings as a faster, easier route to California, Hastings Cuttoff proved to be just the opposite for the Donner-Reed party of 1846. What contributing to the party’s infamous winter survival was the delay the emigrants experienced while crossing the Salt Flats when their wagons became mired in the mud found just below the salt crust. Artifacts from the Donner-Reed Party and other emigrants that crossed the trail are on display in the Donner-Reed Museum in Grantsville.
Geology & Environment
Bonneville Salt Flats is a Beautiful Place For Vacations. The Salt Flats were formed when ancient lake Lake Bonneville dried up. The lake was huge, filling much of the Great Basin. It eventually shrank below its outlet and so its water became salty. As water continued to evaporate, salt deposits were left in many areas. The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville.Several roads probe the Salt Flats from many directions. They often extend into very remote locations where conditions are harsh and there are no services.The flats include a variety of micro environments. In some spots the soil is so salty it prevents vegetation growth. These spots seem to be totally desolate. In other places you will find numerous kinds of plants and animals. Ponds and marshy areas can be found in spots near the edges of the flats and they provide critical habitat for plants and animals.The environment is fragile and needs to be treated with respect. When you drive, stay on established roads. If you camp or hike, do so in ways that are environmentally friendly.The federal government owns almost all of the land in this area and large portions are used by the military for storage depots, test areas and bombing ranges. These sections are fenced and marked, and public access is prohibited.
Area of Bonneville Salt Flats
Managed by the BLM as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and Special Recreation Management Area, the Bonneville Salt Flats are a 30,000 acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin in Utah. “Bonneville” is also on the National Register of Historic Landmarks because of its contribution to land speed racing. The salt flats are about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide with total area coverage of just over 46 square miles. Near the center of the salt, the crust is almost 5 feet thick in places, with the depth tapering off to less than 1 inch as you get to the edges. Total salt crust volume has been estimated at 147 million tons or 99 million cubic yards of salt! The Bonneville Salt Flats are comprised of approximately 90% common table salt.
