As the Great Salt Lake shrinks, state agencies usually report its elevation in terms of feet above sea level. On Thursday, at the Saltair Boat Harbor, that number was 4,192.9 feet above sea level.
But that number can make it difficult to understand just how deep — or shallow — the lake actually is.
Watch the video here.
The Great Salt Lake measured about 25 feet deep at its deepest point this summer, reported Dave Shearer, Great Salt Lake State Park manager and harbor master.
The lake hasn’t always been so shallow, but over the last two decades, the Great Salt Lake has experienced a long, steady decline — partly due to drought, but also from new housing developments, farms and industries that divert water from rivers that once fed the lake.
Receding water levels expose large sections of lakebed. Dust from areas previously covered with water contains unhealthy levels of particulate matter that impact the air that millions of people who live on the Wasatch Front breathe.
And, recent research revealed that the Great Salt Lake’s exposed lakebed is a major source of planet-warming emissions. As microorganisms feed on newly exposed organic matter, they release carbon dioxide and methane, two gases known to contribute to global warming.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake Tribune reporter Jordan Miller helps hold a 25 foot pole by City Hall to help visualize the depth of the Great Salt Lake as measured in early July from lakebed to surface on Monday, August. 5, 2024.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brine shrimp that thrive in the salty water of the Great Salt Lake can be harvested from large slicks full of eggs that float on the surface as pictured on Thursday, July 11, 2024.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Harbor Master Dave Shearer navigates to one of the deepest points in the Great Salt Lake on Thursday, July 11, 2024. The reading this day was 25 feet from lakebed to surface.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Higher Education reporter Courtney Tanner helps hold a 25 foot pole by the University of Utah’s “U,” to help visualize the depth of the Great Salt Lake as measured in early July from lakebed to surface on Monday, August. 5, 2024.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Statewatch reporter Emily Anderson Stern helps hold a 25 foot pole by the Utah Capitol In Salt Lake City to help visualize the depth of the Great Salt Lake as measured in early July from lakebed to surface on Monday, August. 5, 2024.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake Tribune reporter Paighten Harkins helps hold a 25 foot pole by The Whale In Salt Lake City to help visualize the depth of the Great Salt Lake as measured in early July from lakebed to surface on Monday, August. 5, 2024.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Grant Blackwell takes a manual depth reading from the lakebed to the surface of the Great Salt Lake to compare to the boat’s computer reading on Thursday, July 11, 2024. On this day the lake was 25 feet.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Higher Education reporter Courtney Tanner helps hold a 25 foot pole by the University of Utah’s “U,” to help visualize the depth of the Great Salt Lake as measured in early July from lakebed to surface on Monday, August. 5, 2024.