Slide the controls to see how the balance between water coming in and water going out influences a lake's elevation and its salinity. Think about how changes in the water's salinity might influence the creatures that live there.
Slide the controls to see how the balance between water coming in and water going out influences a lake's elevation and its salinity. Think about how changes in the water's salinity might influence the creatures that live there.
Like the lake above, water flowing into Great Salt Lake comes from two main sources: precipitation and inflow from rivers. River water carries small amounts of dissolved minerals, which have become concentrated over thousands of years, making the lake salty and mineral-rich.
Because this lake, like Great Salt Lake, sits at the bottom of a closed basin, no rivers flow out of it. The only way water can leave is through evaporation. When water evaporates, everything dissolved in it stays behind-including salt, minerals, and pollutants.