What lives in and around Great Salt Lake?

Magnified view of two brine shrimp (Artemia salina) from Great Salt Lake. The dark spots are their eyes.

The tiny brine shrimp (Artemia salina) is one of the few  animals that lives within Great Salt Lake. The brine-shrimp population plays an important part in the lake's ecosystem, especially in keeping the lake waters clean through algae consumption. They are also a major food source for millions of migrating birds.

Other forms of life associated with the lake include brine flies, algae, and bacteria. Brine flies congregate by the millions along the lake's beaches, where they feed on bacteria and algae that grow on rocks or wood. The wind commonly blows the remains of dead brine flies into long, black, odoriferous windrows or piles along the beaches. Numerous species of algae and bacteria, which cause the varied colors of the lake waters, provide food for the brine shrimp.

Ducks, geese, gulls, pelicans, and hundreds of other types of birds live in the marshes and wetlands surrounding the lake. Great Salt Lake is an important part of the Pacific and Central Flyways for migratory waterfowl and part of the Northern Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network.

The shores and nearby wetlands of the lake are also home to a variety of reptiles and mammals. Eight amphibian, two turtle, nine lizard, and eight snake species, as well as total of 64 species or subspecies of mammals have been identified in the Great Salt Lake area.

How does the lake affect the weather?

Due to its large size, Great Salt Lake has a significant affect on the weather of nearby cities. During the winter, the lake is warmer than the air above it. This increases the moisture content of the air, creates thermal instability, and causes natural seeding of salt crystals. These factors are believed to cause the fall and winter "lake effect," in which areas adjacent to and usually downwind from the lake receive greater snowfall than those more distant.

What makes the lake stink?