Portal:Oklahoma/Selected article/19



Great Salt Plains Lake is a reservoir located within the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma in the United States named because of the salt flats in the area and for the Salt Fork Arkansas River, which is dammed to form the lake.

Created in 1940, the lake, along with Ralstin Island, is home to heron, egret and ibis. Great Salt Plains Lake expands across 8690 acre, has 41 mi of waterfront and is shallow and salty. The average depth of the lake is only 3 feet (1 m) at normal pool. The sodium content of the lake is approximately 50% that of the ocean. The fish vary from catfish, saugeye, sandbass and hybrid striper.

On the west edge of the lake, visitors can dig for selenite crystals. These crystals feature an hourglass inclusion which is unique to the Great Salt Plains. Scientists believe that salt was deposited during repeated water-level rises of a shallow sea millions of years ago. The supply of salt is kept intact by saline groundwater that flows just a few feet below the surface. When the water evaporates, a layer of salt remains on the surface. This process also plays a role in the formation of selenite crystals that visitors covet. (Read more . . . )