Sunset at the Bonneville Salt Flats

Circa 2025

Unique hexagon patterns are formed by the freezing and thawing of brackish waters. 

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

The length is 12 miles.  The width is 5 miles with a crust that is almost 5 ft. thick at the center and less than one inch thick towards the edges.  It is estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt or about 90% of which is common table salt.  It borders on Interstate 80 on the south side.

Geologist, Grove Karl Gilbert named the area after Benjamin Bonneville, a U.S. Army officer.  In 1907, Bill Rishel and two local businessmen tested the suitability of the salt by driving a Pierce-Arrow onto its surface.  

A railway line across the Flats was completed in 1910, marking the first permanent crossing.  The first land speed record was set at the Flats in 1914 by Teddy Tetzlaff.  

 Theodore "Teddy" Herbert Tetzlaff

(1883-1929)

Tetzlaff was an American race driver active in the formative years of auto racing.  He competed in the first four Indianapolis 500 races with a finish of second in 1912.  He earned his nickname "Terrible Teddy" due to his rough treatment of his vehicles.  His wide-open trottle racing style would often win a race, blow up his engine or cause him to crash.  As auto racing strategies evolved from the early "go as fast as you can and see if you can stay on the track", Tetzlaff's success in the sport waned.