![]() ![]() ![]() Six years later, Joseph Reddeford Walker, another trapper, mapped and explored the areas around the Great Salt Lake and crossed the northern perimeter of the flats while in the employ of Captain Benjamin L. In 1827, trapper, trader, explorer, and frontiersman Jedediah Smith was perhaps the first white man to cross the salt flats in 1827 while returning from his first expedition to California. The flats are composed mainly of potash salts ranging in thickness from less than one inch to six feet. The salt flats are actually the bed of that once massive lake which rivaled in size present Lake Michigan. But a little farther to the north and west, low mountains break this neverending flat landscape and look as if they were floating.The Bonneville Salt Flats of the western Great Salt Lake Desert were formed through the evaporation of the Pleistocene-era Lake Bonneville. To the east and south, the flats extend seemingly forever. The best spot to view the Salt Flats is located along I-80, east of Wendover, where you can also find a rest stop, offering restrooms and water. However the heat has its benefits as well-when it gets really hot, heat waves and salty soil can create amazing mirages. Note, that in summer the temperature rises to 40☌. No vegetation grows on this extremely salty soil and the climate here is desertlike, critical for any animals or plants. In case of thunderstorms that also occur in the dry season, the area gets closed for vehicles. The water evaporates and the wind creates a perfectly smooth and hard surface again. If you want to ride across the flats, you're welcome to come between late July through October. Therefore, vehicles aren't allowed to the area. ![]() In winter and spring, the flat is covered with water, which makes salt crust softer and particularly vulnerable. ![]()
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