Great Salt Lake Desert

desert, Utah, United States

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June 29, 2026

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The Great Salt Lake Desert is a flat, barren region located in northwestern Utah, United States, west and southwest of the Great Salt Lake. It is part of the larger North American Desert, a vast area characterized by aridity, extreme temperatures, and stark landscapes.12

This desert is a remnant of the prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which covered a much larger area in the Pleistocene Epoch. The Great Salt Lake Desert itself spans approximately 4,000 square miles and includes the Bonneville Salt Flats, known for land-speed racing. Life in this desert, like in other North American deserts, is adapted to arid conditions, with plants and animals relying on specialized survival strategies.342

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Utah
Relief
…of the lake is the Great Salt Lake Desert, covering some 4,000 square miles (10,500 square km), which include the Bonneville Salt Flats, the site of many automobile and motorcycle land-speed trials.
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…of the lake is the Great Salt Lake Desert, covering some 4,000 square miles (10,500 square km), which include the Bonneville Salt Flats, the site of many automobile and motorcycle land-speed trials.
Read More

Lake Bonneville
To the southwest is the Great Salt Lake Desert, covering about 4,000 square miles (10,360 square km) and including the Bonneville Salt Flats, famous for land-speed racing.
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To the southwest is the Great Salt Lake Desert, covering about 4,000 square miles (10,360 square km) and including the Bonneville Salt Flats, famous for land-speed racing.
Read More