Which lake is the world’s largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere?

The Great Salt Lake is the world’s largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere.

It lies in northern Utah and is the largest remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, a much larger Ice Age lake that covered parts of the Great Basin. The Great Salt Lake has no natural outlet, so water leaves mainly through evaporation and dissolved minerals remain behind, producing high salinity.

Its size and salinity change greatly with precipitation, river inflow and human water use. The lake is divided into major bays by causeways, including the railway causeway, and its shallow northern and southern sections can differ in salinity and colour.

Despite its saltiness, the lake supports brine shrimp, brine flies and huge numbers of migratory birds. It is not the largest saltwater lake on Earth: that distinction is usually given to the Caspian Sea, which is much larger and often classified separately from inland saline lakes.