Utah
Wet winter leads to flooding at Bonneville Salt Flats
TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — The Bonneville Salt Flats have flooded after all of the rain Utah has had this winter.
Geologist Jeremiah Bernau with the Utah Geological Survey has studied the Salt Flats for six years. He stated that is the wettest he’s ever seen it.
“It’s extraordinarily diluted,” he stated. “There’s loads of water that’s come into the system lately.”
It’s common to see some flooding out on the Salt Flats. Final 12 months’s Velocity Week occasion was cancelled due to it, however Bernau stated the quantity of water that’s collected on the Salt Flats proper now could be important.
“There’s a a lot deeper space that may get possibly one to 2 toes deep. As you go away from that, it will get loads thinner out to the sides,” he stated.
The normally desolate, white raceway now appears extra like an enormous puddle. Bernau stated ice has been noticed on the floor of the floodwaters.
“All that salt that dissolves when now we have all this rain, it’s not going wherever,” Bernau stated.
We took a visit on the market in @KSLChopper5 to get a more in-depth look. (We introduced again fairly a little bit of mud.)
Watch @KSL5TV at 10 for some beautiful photographs of the Salt Flats, and what scientists says all this water means for racing, pictures and different recreation. pic.twitter.com/QbYZeChzg7
— Shelby Lofton (@newswithShelby) January 25, 2023
Guests nonetheless flock to the Salt Flats, however the unusually excessive water makes some individuals, notably these within the racing neighborhood, nervous.
“What’s almost certainly to result in a racing occasion being cancelled is that if now we have a rainfall occurring in the summertime,” Bernau stated.
He stated having this a lot water on the Salt Flats is a superb factor to see.
“Having a wetter local weather, or extra rainfall, is healthier for the long-term well being of the salt crust,” he stated.
The water will go, however the salt will keep.
“I’m truly optimistic that this upcoming 12 months, if now we have a very nice, scorching summer season that evaporates all of the brine, will likely be good for racing,” Bernau stated.
As for the picture alternatives out on the flats, Bernau stated even with the flooding, they’re nonetheless there.
“I’ve seen individuals do some superb issues with the reflection when there’s that shallow water on the market.”
The UGS lately put in a photograph station on the finish of the Salt Flats entry street off Interstate 80 Exit 4.