Salt lakes in the American West are shrinking — from Great Salt Lake to smaller lakes scattered across the Great Basin. In her new book "Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History," writer Caroline Tracey explores why these unusual landscapes matter, and what their decline reveals about humans' impact on the environment.
Tracey spent years visiting salt lakes around the world, documenting how human activity and a warming climate are reshaping these fragile ecosystems.
"Salt lakes are impacted by a mixture of water diversions and climate change," Tracey said. "For decades, humans have been diverting the rivers that lead to the lakes for a lot of alfalfa and other crops."
In the Mountain West, this has left lakes like Great Salt Lake shrinking, exposing lakebed that can send toxic dust into nearby communities and threaten wildlife — from brine shrimp to millions of migratory birds.
Smaller lakes scattered across the Great Basin face similar pressures. Farther south, California's Salton Sea is also receding, exposing dusty shoreline and straining one of the most important bird habitats along the Pacific Flyway.
Tracey's reporting connects these local trends to global examples, including the Aral Sea in Central Asia, where massive river diversions transformed a vast inland sea into a toxic dust basin. Tracey also weaves in personal experiences and cultural history, showing how salt lakes have inspired Indigenous stories, Mormon diaries, and even contemporary art.
Through this mix of science, reporting, and memoir, Tracey paints salt lakes as more than just unique landscapes: they are indicators of broader environmental and societal challenges. She argues that protecting these lakes in the West means rethinking how water is used and paying attention to the delicate balance that keeps these ecosystems alive.
"Salt Lakes: An Unnatural History" is available now.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNR, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
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