Bonneville Salt Flats Panorama

December 07, 2011

Salt Flats Pano w crystals and lines r (3)

Photographer: Bret Webster
Summary Authors: Bret Webster; Jim Foster

The panorama above shows a view of the Bonneville Salt Flats and surrounding mountain ranges in northwestern Utah. Steady winds have ruffled Bonneville’s surface forming the conspicuous windrow. A combination of wind and water created these salt flats. When rain falls here, during the cold season, it accumulates in a very thin layer since the surface is so level it has nowhere to drain. As the weather warms, the shallow lake water slowly evaporates, adding a new layer of salt, chiefly potassium, magnesium or sodium chloride. Note that it's likely that the new salt is really a combination of old, recrystallized salt, as well as some new additional salts that drain into the lake from the surrounding hills. Panorama taken on July 10, 2010.

Photo Details: Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Focal Length: 15.0mm; Aperture: f/16.0; Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250); ISO equiv: 40; Software: DXO Optics Pro v6.

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