OCR Text |
Show 68 solids in the Lake. Dissolved solid content or salt load varies as the total volume of the Lake changes. As the Lake increases in volume, solids from the Lake bed and shore are redissolved, increasing salt load. A decrease in Lake volume decreases the dissolved solid content as a result of precipitation of salts ( mainly NaCl) from saturated solution. The exchange of salts within the Lake bed and Lake shore by dissolution and precipitation is probably the greatest single factor affecting the chemical characteristics of the Lake. Table 7 shows the approximate dissolved solid content of the Lake under conditions of minimum and maximum volume. TABLE 7 PHYSICAL VARIATIONS IN THE GREAT SALT LAKE Parameter Minimum Maximum Date of Occurrence Nov. 1, 1963 June, 1873 Stage ( feet above mean sea level) 4191.35 4211.65 Surface Area ( square miles) 940 2400 Maximum Depth ( feet) 25 45 Volume ( million acre- feet) 8.7 30 Dissolved Solids ( weight percentage) 29.6 14.2 Dissolved Solids ( billion short tons) 4 6 Mineral Inflow Over 90 percent of the surface water entering Great Salt Lake comes from the Bear, Weber and Jordan River basins. These three rivers contribute |