The Bonneville Salt Flats

Website design By BotEap.comImagine a landscape so flat that you can actually see the curvature of the earth! So prohibitive for life, nothing lives there. Not even simple life forms. Salt flats that cover an area of ​​159 square miles (412 km). Located west of the Great Salt Lake, the salt pool is up to six feet (1.8 m) deep.

Website design By BotEap.comAnd then visualize vehicles of all shapes and sizes shooting over the surface of this vast wasteland flat of rock-hard salt. At world record speeds. The Bonneville Salt Flats cover more than 30,000 acres. They stretch almost as far as the eye can see along I-80 near the Utah-Nevada border. And they are administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Website design By BotEap.comThe closest city to the Salt Flats is Wendover, Nevada, which is 10 miles (16 km) to the west. Yes, this is still a world famous destination. The desolate landscape is the destination of tourists and film producers. And car enthusiasts trying to drive faster than anyone else.

Website design By BotEap.comHistory of speed in the salt flats

Website design By BotEap.comIn 1896, WD Rishel was laying out a bicycle track from New York to San Francisco. He saw the Bonneville Salt Flats and a seed was planted. He realized the potential of a completely different kind of “career”. A race against time.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen he returned to the apartments, he finally convinced a reckless runner, Teddy Tezlaff, to attempt to set an automobile land speed record with his Blitzen Benz. And Teddy was successful in 1914 reaching 141.73 mph. However, it only stood as an unofficial world record, as car clubs refused to recognize the record.

Website design By BotEap.comIn 1935, Jenkins lured Sir Malcolm Campbell, the world’s most famous car racer, to the floors to attempt a new speed record. His two races averaged 301.1202 mph!

Website design By BotEap.comAs the years passed, more men came to the Bonneville Salt Flats race track to set new records. It became the standard course for world land speed records. In 1970, Gary Gabolich hit an incredible 622.4 mph in his “Blue Flame.”

Since that first run in 1914, hundreds of automobile and motorcycle speed records have been set over the years.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen do the events take place?

Website design By BotEap.comSpeed ​​tests are still scheduled during the summer and fall. And the public is invited to attend most of the events. The annual Speed ​​Week is normally held every August.

Website design By BotEap.comHistory of the Bonneville Salt Flats

Website design By BotEap.comWhen you see the salt flats for the first time, you will surely think that no one could have lived here. But humans have lived here at different times for thousands of years. In fact, archaeological excavations at nearby Danger Cave show that humans lived here more than 10,000 years ago.

Website design By BotEap.comJim Bridger and other mountain men had explored much of this desert region around the Great Salt Lake Wilderness in 1824. Captain John C. Fremont and his reconnaissance party made the first actual recorded crossing of this wilderness in 1845. Their Scouts included Kit Carson and Joe Caminante.

Website design By BotEap.comIn 1910, with the completion of the South Pacific Railroad from Salt Lake City to San Francisco, the first permanent passageway of the Bonneville Salt Flats was completed.

Website design By BotEap.com

Website design By BotEap.comAbout 15,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, Lake Bonneville covered 1/3 of what is now Utah. The Great Salt Lake remains a smaller footprint. And the salt flats. Formed when water floods the plains every winter. As it evaporates during the spring and summer, strong desert winds soften it to an almost perfectly flat table. Stretching for miles.

Website design By BotEap.comAdaptations and rules

• stay on existing roads. Much of the surface is unstable with soft mud underneath.
• stay away from salt flats when covered by water. The surface is soft and highly corrosive.
• It’s a desert. Get ready for one. Temperature variations can be extreme. From below freezing in winter to over 100 F in summer.
• there are no services or facilities. Overnight stays on the flats are prohibited. You can camp on surrounding public land.
• Private campgrounds and hookups can be found in Wendover, Nevada, 10 miles (16 km) west of the Bonneville Salt Flats. As well as hotels and motels.

Website design By BotEap.com