Extreme Environments: Great Salt Lake
Living Factors
Great Salt Lake is teeming with life. The organisms that live in and around Great Salt Lake depend on one another and their environment for survival.
Learn about the producers and consumers that make up the Great Salt Lake food web.
Brine shrimp are the largest animals that live in Great Salt Lake. This unique organism has several adaptations that help it survive in its extreme environment.
Microbes are everywhere, and they play many important roles in the natural world.
Microbes are some of the oldest and most diverse live forms on the planet. Read about how scientists study these tiny creatures.
Non-Living Factors
An ecosystem is largely shaped by its physical environment, including factors such as climate, geology, and mineral content. These non-living factors determine which organisms survive and thrive in an ecosystem.
Great Salt Lake is divided into a variety of regions, each with its own defining characteristics.
The physical environment in and around Great Salt Lake is varied, dynamic, and often extreme.
Lake level and salinity are influenced by how much water flows in and out.
See two and a half years of changes compressed into 30 seconds.
Scientists work to understand human-lake interactions and maximize the lake's resources.
No matter when you visit Great Salt Lake, there's always something to see. This guide will tell you what to look for in any season.
Update on Great Salt Lake - June 2022
Teacher resources — Visit our companion site for wet labs, paper-based activities, scientist lectures, and more.
