Utah S Great Salt Lake Has Two Visibly Distinct Colors

Utah’s Great Salt Lake is iconic, and one of the things most out-of-staters recognize about the Beehive State. It provides habitat for millions of birds, is the site of some rich history and beautiful landscape art, and can take your breath away with its vast beauty.

The lake can also provide pleasant surprises sometimes. Here’s a side of the lake you may not have seen — its waters are actually separated into two distinctly different (but equally vibrant) colors.

When you think of the Great Salt Lake, you probably picture a pretty sunset from Antelope Island…

Aaron Hawkins/flickr

…or the graceful beauty of Spiral Jetty…

Elisabeth Haslam/flickr

…or the rich history of Saltair.

Jackson, William Henry/Wikimedia

You probably know that the Great Salt Lake, which covers 1,700 square miles, is the largest salt water lake in the Western hemisphere, and that it can be seen from space.

Stuart Rankin/flickr

From high above, the lake looks very different than you might think. You can see a distinct line where the Lucin Cutoff cuts through the lake. This 103-mile rail line was originally built on a trestle, but it was replaced by a causeway in the 1950s, which changed the salt content of the lake on one side.

Stuart Rankin/flickr

Algae grows in both portions of the lake, but the difference in salt concentrations means that different kinds of algae are present in each side. On the lake south of the causeway, cyanobacteria creates the blue-green tones; on the north side of the causeway, an algae called Dunaliella salina grows, and it creates the rich red colors you see here.

Justin McFarland/YouTube

Check out this video posted on Youtube by Justin McFarland, which shows the two vibrant colors of the lake in the most beautiful way possible:  Saltair is an iconic attraction on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Read our feature article about the fascinating history of this place.

Aaron Hawkins/flickr

Elisabeth Haslam/flickr

Jackson, William Henry/Wikimedia

Stuart Rankin/flickr

Justin McFarland/YouTube

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