Great Salt Lake Desert The 1846 Donner Party's difficulties in making the crossing contributed to their becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Howard Stansbury explored the desert in 1849. In 1956, I-80 replaced the Wendover Cut-off across the desert, including a straight east-west section for ~ between the Cedar Mountains to the east and Wendover on the Utah/Nevada border. Following a railway completed across the desert's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1910, the flats were first used as a speedway in 1914. The world records for highest land speeds are regularly broken here. The Great Salt Lake Desert experiences a desert climate with hot summers
South Salt Lake, Utah South Salt Lake, Utah South Salt Lake is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States and is part of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 23,617 at the 2010 census. Incorporated in 1938, South Salt Lake celebrated its 75th-year Diamond Anniversary in 2013. Nestled among and often confused for neighboring larger cities, it is close to everything from golf courses to a downtown night life while still maintaining its small town feel. Some of Utah's best ski resorts are about a 30-minute drive and downtown Salt Lake City is only several minutes away. South