Grading Rubric – Total Points: 200
Include this rubric as first page. Points
Library Research – Works Cited Page – Turned in by deadline shown in assignment
- APA style; relevant content; college-level sources; websites not allowed – sources must /20
be articles, books, or documents.
Site Visit
- Field Observations Form - hand written in field, fully completed. /20
- Photos - 6 of your own photos, 2 per page, descriptive photo captions in complete
sentences, photos are original and show relevant geologic features. Photos copied from the /20
internet will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.
- Map – Your own final hand-drawn map of the site showing geologic features, includes
title, north arrow, scale bar, legend of all map elements; use color, show location of photos, show
/20
location of relevant geologic features and label them, show human features like roads and trails.
This has to be a neat hand drawn map of the park.
Final Report - Three-page research paper
- Content - Relevant observations and explanations of geologic features, good relationship
between your observations and the results of your library research. Scientifically relevant /40
physical geologic features. Show relationship between geologic features to your observations.
- Writing style - Research report style that is objective, cites references, and is concise,
direct, organized, and structured. Will be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Topic /40
sentences for each paragraph, all sentences in paragraphs relate to main point of paragraph.
- In-Text Citations: Followed in-text citation procedures for APA correctly. /20
Functional ePortfolio URL link included on Title Page /20
Total Points /200
Field Observations Form: (to be completed by hand in the field during site visit; prior to going,
make and use additional copies of this form as needed in the field.)
Your Name: ____madison masock_______________ Site Name:
___________________________________
Date of Site Visit: _____march 31_______ Other People Present:
___________________________________________
Rock Samples Collected: __________piece of salt flats
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
__________________
Geology 1010
Cam Mosher
Team field Trip
Bonneville Salt Flats 2018
Madison Masock
This paper is an overview of information about the Bonneville salt flats. There is a lot of
history beneath them and also a lot of interesting and unique uses for them as well. There are
many things that make them useful today, things that can be very fun and exhilarating. However,
all though there are great things about them there is an issue when the natural beauty that is
slowly going away. It is important that things that are globally known and used, are preserved for
the future. This is one thing that is slowly being taken away, and something needs to be done.
For this report we went to the Bonneville Salt Flats. There are many things that make this
place a unique sight, and those are the reasons we chose this as the sight for our team trip. There
are only a couple handfuls in the world, and Utah is lucky to house one. There are many features
that make this place so special. Things such as what lies beneath them to the surrounding area. It
is remnants of the ice aged lake Bonneville that once covered a large portion of Utah. It is a very
popular place that has been used for many things, one of the most popular is speed racing, some
that have broken sound barriers. Even though it is a popular place it is slowly depleting like
many other things on this earth. The various thickness of the crust is one things that is changing
and could be detrimental to the length this piece of land will last.
To know more about the salt flats there must be some background on how they came to
be. They are a remnant of the once very large lake Bonneville that covered just about one third of
Utah during the ice age era. They were formed from minerals that were left over after the
evaporation of the water occurred. This is something that occurs most often in arid, desert areas.
This makes it unique. And while it is unique it is something that is also disappearing like many
things in the world. The solid layer of left over minerals is made up of halite (table salt), gypsum,
carnallite, and sylvite. The salt flats have been involved in a few historical things, from people
who crossed them, to those who attempted, and whose travels were interrupted. One interesting
thing that the salt flats preserved beneath their crustal surface was the mud tracks from the
infamous Donner-Reed party. This is one amazing thing that this large piece of land is known
for.
The surface of the salt flats is so flat with no obstructions that there are many uses for it.
one of the things it is most known for is racing. There was an unsuccessful attempt followed by
the next and very successful one. There have been world records that have been broken on the
salt flats simply due to the type of land that it is. Many events are held here making it known
world wide for speed junkies and enthusiasts. This industry would come to a halt if the size of
the salt flats keeps decreasing like it has been. There are different things that will greatly be
impacted by the shrinking of this piece of land. It will not only affect the racing industries as
well as salt industries.
The surface of the salt flats is depleting. While looking at it, there are thicknesses that
cannot be determined easily. It can range from inches to feet. The particular area we were in, we
noticed that there were parts where the salt was elevated. And under these elevations is the same
mix of mud and sediments from millions of years before. When stepping on these areas we
noticed that it sounded hollow underneath, but directly underneath was the mud layer. There was
also some areas with more water than usual. The water level can get up to 7 inches in some parts
of the year, while during summer it is usually dry because of the desert air. The water areas that
we found were closer to the edges of the salt flats. For the most part the central areas of it were
more dry.
The surrounding areas of the salt flats were low mountainous areas, and you are able to
see the different layers in them. This was interesting because they are very different from the
ones that are visible from the valley. The mountain ranges here are also very different from the
ones out there. The ranges here are very large and do not have defined layer of rock like the ones
near the salt flats. The mountain ranges surrounding the salt flats were once submerged in lake
Bonneville, and the shore lines are still visible to the naked eye. Not only were the salt flats
produced Great Salt Lake.
The salt flats have been used for various things. And one of the most prominent is for
salt. There was a mining company that attempted to sell table salt extracted from it out of Ogden
and when that failed it was sold. Another company that bought it opened a factory just shortly
out of Wendover and began selling the same product and was much more successful. There are
many companies that have been involved in the selling of the natural product from the salt flats,
and many started out the same, unsuccessful. One thing that made production of potash
particularly difficult was the working conditions, from frigid cold winters, to extremely hot, and
arid desert conditions.
The Bonneville Salt Flats are one of few occurring in the world and that is part of what
makes them so special and unique. The things they are used for only adds to how the have made
very innovative use of the land and made them known around the world. From building
companies to breaking world speed records, this stretch of land is very important. It is imperative
that it is preserved because of its natural resources.
Radlauer, E., & Radlauer, R. (1973). Bonneville cars. New York: Watts.
Annual report. United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories. 1st-
12th, 1867-1878. (1867). doi:10.5962/bhl.title.15810
Bowen, B. B. (2016). Timescales And Drivers Of Change At The Bonneville Salt Flats.
doi:10.1130/abs/2016am-284350
Wiseman, C. (1999). Crossing the salt flats. Erin, Ont: Porcupines Quill.
Eyston, G., & Bradley, W. F. (1947). Speed on salt: A history of the Bonneville Salt
Flats, Utah, U.S.A. Los Angeles, CA: Floyd Clymer.
Very flat, spanning a long surface
Mountainous ranges on the NE side
Water puddles closer to the mountains
Light colored mud under the surface
Elevated areas that sound hollow if stepped on
