Is it safe to bathe off of I-80 in the Great Salt Lake?
If you look at the aerial photographs of I-80 in Utah around Salt Lake, near Grantsville, UT, you could potentially see that in some years, the lake "extends" to the south of I-80, whereas in others, the area may be completely dry.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=40+39+47+N,+112+21+31+W
There was a lot of water there this late June 2013, but, IIRC, a couple of years back, it was almost completely dry.
In general, from the point of view of whether the said smaller portions of the Salt Lake have anything in it that's very harmful to humans, is it safe to try to bathe in such smaller portions of the Great Salt Lake?
Best Answer
There is a great story on NPR regarding swimming in Great Salt Lake in general.
"The Great Salt Lake was like swallowing a battery," Gridley says, "whereas swimming in the ocean was like a glass of lemonade." He warns newcomers about swallowing lake water. "You could end up throwing your guts up."
Generally in the US unless there is a beach or an organized place swimming is usually either not allowed or at your own risk. Given the quote above I would stay away from the smaller quarry like pools, which may have salination levels closer to the ones in Dead Sea and are more likely to be used as evaporation pools for some sort of industrial operation.
If you still choose to take a swim in one don't be surprised to receive one of these...
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Can you bath in Great Salt Lake?
You will need fresh water to rinse off and fresh clothing that isn't stiff and starched. Due to the remote location of the Great Salt Lake, there are no easily accessible showers or foot baths, so bring your own water.Is Great Salt Lake toxic?
Researchers have found that for over a century, the lake bed has been slowly accumulating byproducts of human activities like mining, smelting, and agricultural runoff. As the lake disappears, the exposed bed turns into dust that contains elevated levels of potentially toxic heavy metals and chemicals like arsenic.Which bacteria live in the Great Salt Lake?
The South Arm of the lake averages about 12\u201315% salinity, while the North Arm averages around 26\u201330% and contains halophiles with a purple to pink hue. There are only two types of known bacteria that can currently live in the saturated North Arm waters \u2014 the halophiles Halobacterium and Halococcus.Grass fire burning off I-80 near Great Salt Lake (via Heather McDonald)
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