Great Salt Lake
Currently two gages are used to monitor the lake level. The gages are located at the boat harbor at Saltair Beach State Park (south part, since October 1938), and at the Little Valley boat harbor northwest of Saline (north part, since April 1966). A third gage was operated at Promontory Point (south part) from October 1986 to September 1999. The elevation of the lake is recorded every 15 minutes and the data are transmitted to a satellite every 4 hours. These data are captured by a satellite downlink and entered into the USGS computer system. Mean daily elevations are computed and made available to the public. Wind and seiche effects may cause substantial short-term changes in elevations, which are not shown in the mean daily values.
Great Salt Lake differs in elevation between the south and north parts. The Union Pacific Railroad causeway divides the lake into two parts. The water-surface elevation of the south part of the lake is usually 0.5 to 2 feet higher than that of the north part because most of the inflow to the lake is to the south part.
Note: Discrepancies in the lake elevations led to revisions of the base datum and the water-level record from April 16, 1984, to April 30, 2001. The Great Salt Lake Datum Correction has a detailed explanation of these corrections.
Great Salt Lake Datum Correction
Current
water-surface elevation graph of Great Salt Lake near Saltair Boat Harbor
Current
water-surface elevation graph of Great Salt Lake near Saline
Long-term water-surface elevation
graphs of the Great Salt Lake
To go to the Great Salt Lake homepage click on the image
The USGS has compiled measurements of water-surface elevation for Great Salt Lake since 1875 and conducted many studies on the hydrology, salinity, water quality, and ecology of the lake. Currently, the USGS operates elevation gages at Saltair Marina, Saline (north part), and on Promontory Point (south part). The USGS is studying the ecology of brine shrimp in the lake in cooperation with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and researchers from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Utah State University.