Great Salt Lake Watershed​

• The Great Salt Lake Watershed, as referred to by DWQ, represents the West Desert portion of the watershed.
• It is the most arid region of Utah
• Due to the harsh nature of the basin, 88% of the population occupies only 7% of the land

Great Salt Lake

• The Great Salt Lake is the 6th largest lake in the USA.
• The salt content in the Great Salt Lake is 3-8 times saltier than the ocean.
• ‰Fourth largest saline lake and terminal lake in the world ‰
• GSL creates a lake effect by moderating local weather patterns which produces large snowfalls in the mountains ‰
• Free from fish, the largest aquatic wildlife are brine shrimp and brine flies ‰
• Supports between 2 and 5 million shorebirds and is part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network

Land Cover

• Urban 0.1%
• Forest 11%
• Agriculture 2%
• Rangeland 54%
• Other 33%

Land Ownership

• BLM 54%
• State 7%
• Forest Service 4%
• Private 18%
• Other 17%

Counties in this watershed

• Box Elder 
• Tooele
• Juab 
• Millard 

Sub-watersheds

• Curlew Valley (southern half)
• Raft (southern)
• Goose (southern portion)
• Northern Great Salt Lake Desert
• Pilot-Thousand Springs, Nevada, Utah (small eastern portion)
• Southern Great Salt Lake Desert
• Hamlin-Snake Valleys (eastern half)
• Tule Valley
• Skull Valley
• Rush-Tooele Valleys