Sunday, April 16, 2006

Geology: Lake Bonneville - Timeline

Nick said I needed to add a timeline to the Bonneville Flood entry, so here it is.

The Timeline Addendum:

Lake Stansbury 24,400 - 20,000
The waters of the surrounding ranges began to collect in the basin. Apparently there was a climate change of some kind that held the level stable for approximately 3000 years.

Lake Bonneville 18,000 - 14,500
The basin began collecting more water. With no outlet it grew and grew until it reached the rim of the Red Rock Pass and began overflowing as a small stream.

Flood 14,500
Catastrophic erosion of the softer layers of rock at Red Rock Pass allowed the waters of Lake Bonneville to flood through Pocatello and on into the Snake River.

Lake Provo 14,500 - 13,500
Outflow through the Red Rock Pass stabilized as erosion came to a screeching almost standstill. Lake Provo was stabilized until the end of the last major ice age. The reduced flow of water into the lake caused the lake to retreat.

Lake Gilbert 11,000 - 10,000
Resurgence in water flowing into the basin created this level, before finally shrinking to the Great Salt Lake level.

Great Salt Lake Present
The Great Salt Lake is still in a basin. It is no longer large enough to flow out through the Red Rock Pass. Water can only escape through evaporation.

See earlier post on Lake Bonneville for Internet Resources

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