What is the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere?

The Great Salt Lake is the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere.

It lies in northern Utah and is a remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, a much larger Ice Age lake that covered parts of Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. As Lake Bonneville receded, it left behind several smaller bodies of water, including the Great Salt Lake. Because the lake has no outlet, water leaves mainly through evaporation.

Rivers such as the Bear, Weber, and Jordan carry minerals into the basin. Evaporation concentrates those minerals, making the lake saltier than seawater in many areas. The dense water helps swimmers float, while brine shrimp and other specially adapted organisms support enormous populations of migratory birds.

The lake’s area and salinity change substantially with precipitation, drought, and upstream water use. Lake Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake in South America, and the Dead Sea is saltier, but neither is the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere. The Great Salt Lake holds that distinction by surface area.