Great Salt Lake Water Dashboard

Here are several great resources for learning about the state of Great Salt Lake!

South Arm Elevation

North Arm Elevation

The South Arm of Great Salt Lake is measured from the USGS monitoring station at Saltair Boat Harbor. This measurement is usually what is looked at when considering the health of the lake. The minimum healthy level is 4198′ above sea level

The North Arm of Great Salt Lake is measured at the USGS monitoring station at Gilbert Bay. 

%

Percent of area currently covered

Square miles of exposed lakebed

Feet Below Healthy

%

Salinity

%

Percent of volume currently filled

What do these numbers mean?

Area, Volume, and Exposed Lakebed

The lake bed of Great Salt Lake covers a large area, meaning that each decrease in water level results in a larger decline in surface area.  At healthy levels, the surface area of the lake should be around _____. Great Salt Lake is also a relatively shallow lake, only around 15′ deep on average. This means that the volume is also highly variable. A healthy volume is _____. The percentage values are compared to what the lake is like at 4207′.

 

Feet Below Healthy

According to the GSL Strike Team Report, the minimum healthy level for Great Salt Lake is 4198′. Because of how vast the lake is, it takes a lot of water to raise the lake level significantly.

 

Salinity

This measurement is looking at how salty the south arm of Great Salt Lake is. For comparison, the ocean has 3-5% salinity and the north arm of the lake is between 30-35% salinity.

Links to Other Resources

The Great Salt Lake Hydromapper is a resource from the USGS that shows changes in lake level, volume, and salinity over time. It also has information about other health indicators for the lake.

Between 60-70% of Utah’s water comes in the form of snow, though it can be hard to know how much water is actually held in the snow. Snow-water equivalent calculates how much water is available in the snow, which varies depending on climate conditions.

This resource shows how much precipitation accumulates in Great Salt Lake over time.

The National Water Dashboard allows you to create maps showing where things like reservoirs, rivers, watershed boundaries, and more are in a selected region.

Soil moisture is an indicator of drought and can predict both future drought and flood conditions. This resource shows soil moisture percentages throughout the Great Salt Lake watershed.

The Utah Department of Natural Resources has also created a dashboard with links to various sources of Great Salt Lake data.