Salt Lake

Microbes exist within all parts of the globe. Where it was once thought that conditions were too extreme to sustain life, microscopic organisms have been found that call it their home and have adapted to such an extreme that they are incapable of survival anywhere else. Salt lakes like the Great Salt Lake in Utah or the Dead Sea along the border of Jordan and Israel are two of the saltiest bodies of water in all of the earth. With salt concentrations as much as ten times that of the ocean, these places still manage to maintain microbial life. These places often accumulate such a high amount of salt and minerals because water runoff towards the lake carries minerals into the lake and when the water evaporates, the salts are left behind and leave the lake even more saline each time.

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Edited by [Alan Wong, Gary Porter, Kate Graham, Nicolle Ma] students of Rachel Larsen