How did the Great Salt Lake become so salty?

Look south from Buffalo Point for an outstanding view of Lake Bonneville terraces carved into the island as high as a thousand feet above the Great Salt Lake's surface. After the ice age the earth's climate became drier and Lake Bonneville gradually receded to form Great Salt Lake. read more

The Great Salt Lake became so salty because it has no outlet. Water (With small amounts of salt) flow into the GSL. The only way for the water to leave is by evaporation, which leaves the salt behind. read more

As a result, the Great Salt Lake is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, with only the Dead Sea, on the border between Jordan and Israel, having a higher salinity. Depending on the lake level, the salinity of the lake in historic times has ranged from about 27% (7.7 times as salty as ocean water) to about 5% (1.4 times as salty). read more