Which desert in Utah is famous for Bonneville Salt Flats, a vast salt pan west of Salt Lake City?

The Great Salt Lake Desert is the Utah desert famous for the Bonneville Salt Flats, a vast salt pan west of Salt Lake City.

The desert occupies northwestern Utah and formed around the remnants of Lake Bonneville, a large Ice Age lake that covered much of the Great Basin. As the lake dried, minerals accumulated on the floor, leaving salt flats and other playa surfaces.

The Bonneville Salt Flats are especially well known for land-speed racing because their exceptionally flat, hard surface can extend for many miles. The flats are named after Benjamin Bonneville, a 19th-century U.S. Army officer and explorer.

The Great Salt Lake Desert is often confused with the Mojave or Great Basin deserts. It is part of the Great Basin region, but its salt-pan landscape is more distinctive than the sagebrush-covered terrain found elsewhere in the basin.