Rain sometimes leaves a thin layer of water that reflects off of the mountains.

The Bonneville Salt Flats’ unique beauty lures thousands of tourists each year to photograph the barren desert landscape. They submerge plastic pipes into the ground to extract briny water and examine its mineral composition.

When scientists come, they drive SUVs across the flats to measure groundwater levels and the thickness of the salt at stations throughout the area. Utah geologists are now researching the combination of causes and how to maintain the thickness of the salt crust and prevent the footprint of the area from shrinking further. When miners draw mineral-rich water from the aquifer underneath the flats and it doesn’t replenish naturally, nearby groundwater encroaches and causes the footprint to shrink. A combination of changes in the environment and human activities like mining and high-speed racing have caused the Bonneville Salt Flats to shrink. Sunrise on Bonneville Salt Flats in western Utah is a spectacular showstopper. But much as it has for millennia, the landscape is evolving. This pattern is available for 3.00 USD buy it now.

Bonneville salt flats sunrise