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Thursday, August 05, 1999 |
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BEGINNINGS The far horizon A lively recreational jewel A flood of trivia Great tales surrounding the lake
Ecosystem under threat Lake has impact on weather Small island is a refuge for birds Islands in the salt Lake defines geology of northern Utah Great Salt Lake timeline
Looking ahead Lake pumps still waiting for flood Myriad firms thrive off lake Dike it, dye it, blow a hole in it Is plan for lake great?
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A timeline of the Great Salt Lake
22,200 B.C.: Lake Bonneville, Stansbury level, 245 feet deep.
16,000 B.C.: Lake Bonneville, Bonneville level, 1,020 feet deep, as the climate becomes wetter.
14,800 B.C.: Lake Bonneville breaks through at Red Rock Pass, Idaho, making an outlet into the Snake Drive Drainage. Its level rapidly decreases.
14,200 B.C.: Lake Bonneville, Provo level, 640 feet deep.
10,800 B.C.: Lake Bonneville, Gilbert level, 75 feet deep, as a drier climage exists.
10,000 B.C.: The first humans may have arrived at the lake.
8,000-10,000 B.C.: The modern Great Salt Lake emerges.
A.D. 1776: Spanish explorers Escalante and Dominguez hear tales of a bitter sea that connects with Utah Lake.
1824: Jim Bridger and Etienne Provost become the first recorded white men to see the lake.
1843: John C. Fremont and Kit Carson explore the lake and visit Fremont and Antelope islands.
1847: First pioneers bathe in the lake.
1870: Lakeside and Lake Shore, the first two bathing resorts on the Great Salt Lake, emerge.
1873: The lake level reaches a historic high of almost 4,212 feet above sea level.
1890: Dropping lake levels decrease crowds to the lakeshore resorts.
1896: State gets ownership of the lake.
1903: Lucin railroad causeway cutoff is built near Promontory.
1963: The lake level drops to 4,191 feet above sea level.
1964: Most of the causeway to Antelope Island is built.
1969: The Antelope Island causeway opens.
1983: Rising lake levels close the Antelope Island causeway. (It was also temporarily washed out during numerous storms from 1969-1983.)
1986-87: Lake level almost reaches 4,212 feet.
1987-89: Pumps operate to lower the level of the lake.
1993: The causeway to Antelope Island reopens after reconstruction.
1997: The lake begins to rise again.
1999: The lake's level rises 1.5 feet since 1998. |
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