Bonneville Salt Flats

The Bonneville Salt Flats is a densely-packed salt pan in northwestern Utah that is a remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. It is the largest of many salt flats located west of the Great Salt Lake, is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and is known for land speed records at the "Bonneville Speedway".

History

The area was named after Benjamin Bonneville, a U.S. Army officer who explored the Intermountain West in the 1830s. In 1907 Bill Rishel and two local businessmen tested the suitability of the salt for driving on by taking a Pierce Arrow onto the surface of the flats.<ref name="hanna">Template:Citation/core{{#if:|}}</ref> A railway line across the Bonneville Salt Flats was completed in 1910, marking the first permanent crossing.<ref>Template:Citation/core{{#if:|}}</ref> The first land speed record was in 1914 by Teddy Tetzlaff.<ref>Template:Citation/core{{#if:|}}</ref>

Movies filmed at the salt flats include portions of Warlock, Independence Day, SLC Punk, Cremaster 2 from Cremaster Cycle, The Brown Bunny, The World's Fastest Indian, Gerry, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. In addition, the Pontiac Bonneville, former flagship sedan of the Pontiac motor division, the Triumph Bonneville motorcycle, and the Bonneville International media company, are named after the salt flats.