Lake Bonneville

Lake Bonneville was a large Pleistocene lake that covered much of Utah and parts of neighboring states. Its shorelines, sediments, and outlet channels preserve evidence of changing climate and dramatic flooding.

Bonneville Flood: A catastrophic flood that drained Lake Bonneville through Red Rock Pass about 18,000 years ago. The lake’s overflow breached a divide and sent a vast flood down the Snake River.
Pleistocene: The geological epoch lasting from about 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago, marked by repeated ice ages. Lake Bonneville expanded during the late Pleistocene’s cooler, wetter conditions.
Paleoclimatology: The study of past climates using geological, chemical, and biological evidence. Lake sediments and shorelines reveal how regional moisture changed through time.
Bonneville Bench: A prominent shoreline terrace in Utah formed by wave erosion and deposition along Lake Bonneville. The bench is a conspicuous landform created at the lake’s high stand.
Provo shoreline: A prominent Lake Bonneville shoreline formed when the lake stood near its overflow threshold. It marks the stable lake level after the Bonneville Flood lowered the water surface.
Last Glacial Maximum: The interval when global ice sheets reached their greatest extent during the last glaciation. Its climate context helps explain the water balance that sustained the lake.
Radiocarbon dating: A method for estimating the age of once-living material from its carbon-14 content. Organic remains associated with lake deposits help constrain the lake’s chronology.
Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway: A motorsport venue on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, known for high-speed land-speed trials. The exceptionally flat lake-bed surface made the salt flats suitable for speed records.
Bonneville shoreline: A high, continuous shoreline marking Lake Bonneville’s maximum extent. Its elevation records the lake’s greatest expansion before outlet incision.
Great Basin: An arid region of western North America whose rivers and streams do not reach the ocean. The closed drainage basin allowed water to accumulate rather than flow to the sea.

Linked from 11 pages