Great Salt Lake
North America’s largest terminal basin lake is vanishing, endangering millions of migratory birds and threatening to become the largest source of toxic dust pollution on the continent.
Great Salt Lake in Utah, USA is North America’s largest and most ecologically important terminal basin lake. The lake sits at the confluence of the Pacific and Central flyways and serves as a migratory hub for ten million birds across two continents. Its central geography and rich food supply makes Great Salt Lake and the surrounding wetlands the single most important bird habitat in the American West.
After decades of unchecked water diversion and severe drought, Great Salt Lake is drying up. The lake has lost eleven feet of elevation and half its surface area. With no end to the shrinking in sight, Great Salt Lake’s ecosystem is under threat and the future of this globally unique ecosystem - and ten million birds - is uncertain.
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Scenes from the otherworld
Despite its severe environment, Great Salt Lake is teeming with life and color. My work juxtaposes the vibrant bird life of Great Salt Lake with its otherworldly landscapes.
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A microbialite powered food chain
Microbialites are ancient “living rocks” in the lakebed of Great Salt Lake that underpin its entire ecosystem and generate food for ten million birds. Record low water levels at Great Salt Lake have allowed me a closer look at these bird food factories.
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The lakebed emerges
The vanishing Great Salt Lake creates two imminent ecological calamities, including the collapse of a globally important ecosystem and toxic dust from the dry lakebed becoming airborne. This collection shows views of Great Salt Lake and its deadly lakebed.
