In 1827, trapper, trader, explorer, and frontiersman Jedediah Smith was perhaps the first white man to cross the salt flats in 1827 while returning from his first expedition to California. The flats are composed mainly of potash salts ranging in thickness from less than one inch to six feet. The salt flats are actually the bed of that once massive lake which rivaled in size present Lake Michigan. It remains unclear whether recreational use of the canals is actually illegal, but users could be cited if they pass no-trespassing signs to get to them, the BLM says.The Bonneville Salt Flats of the western Great Salt Lake Desert were formed through the evaporation of the Pleistocene-era Lake Bonneville. Access requires crossing private land that may have “no trespassing” signs. The canals themselves cross multiple jurisdictions, including private land, state trust land and federal land. State agencies seeking to put an end to canal paddling there include the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, the Department of Transportation and the Utah Highway Patrol.Ĭanal users have been parking along I-80, which is both dangerous and illegal. It’s staffers have been confronting those looking to enter the canals, urging them to leave, according to recent news reports. Intrepid Potash holds permits on federal, state and private lands to extract potash from evaporative ponds south of I-80. Videos posted on YouTube and Instagram show people using kayaks and paddleboards to explore the canals north of Interstate 80, adding to the canals’ popularity just as social media posts have invited hordes into formerly hidden hiking destinations all over Utah.
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