Managed by the Bureau of Land Management as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern and Special Recreation Management Area, the Bonneville Salt Flats are a 30,000 acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin in Utah.
The salt flats first began to form at the end of the last Ice Age, when the salty waters of ancient Lake Bonneville began to recede. Lake Bonneville covered approximately one-third of Utah and was almost 1,000 feet deep in the area of the salt flats. Bonneville’s terrain is an ideal speedway — it’s barren and flat, with winter rains creating a surface as hard as concrete in the warmer months. The Salt Flats have been home to land speed record runs for more than a century.
Mr. Seth Wilmot, Viewmont's CTE Automotive teacher, took his advanced automotive class to the Bonneville Salt Flats to see some fast cars in action. Students were able to talk with auto professionals about their cars and learn about how they work. They also learned more about building fast cars that can go upwards of 200 mph.
It was an amazing experience for these automotive students!
