Additionally, lower water levels mean the lake's shore gets smaller, increasing competition for space. Those shrimp are also an important food source for migratory birds, and if the water level gets too low and concentrates the salt levels too much, the whole system could collapse. Harvesting brine shrimp for commercial fish food supports thousands of jobs and provides more than $1.5 billion in revenue annually. But because it's so salty, the lake is home to brine shrimp – those tiny little creatures sold as Sea-Monkeys. The lake's water is too salty to use for irrigation or drinking. What are the consequences of the Great Salt Lake drying up? "We're still in a megadrought and we can't be complacent," said Lynn de Freitas, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Great Salt Lake. And in more typical years, more precipitation is falling as rain than snow, which means it runs off faster and doesn't recharge underground aquifers as much. And the lower the lake gets, the faster it evaporates. Second, climate change is giving the Salt Lake City area hotter summers, which increases evaporation in the lake. WATER CRISIS NEWS Water levels are going up in the West's massive reservoirs. The Salt Lake City area is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country. The water that should be flowing in is instead being used to grow crops or water lawns. Last year, the lake's surface dropped to a record-low elevation of 4,188 feet above sea level because it's not being recharged by rivers. In part, because farmers and residents are using more water than ever before, the lake over the past three years has received less than a third of its natural streamflow. READ MORE: Latest climate change news from USA TODAY Is the Great Salt Lake drying up? How does climate change affect you? Subscribe to the weekly Climate Point newsletter "I think we need to be really wise how to use this gift." It doesn't solve the problem but it gives us the breathing room we need to implement comprehensive solutions," said Benjamin Abbott, a professor of ecosystem ecology at Brigham Young University in nearby Provo, Utah. But experts warn this is a temporary easing of what continues to be a long-term drought compounded by overuse of existing water. Melting snow has already lifted water levels in the lake 4 feet from their historic low last fall, compared to only a foot last spring. State Abbreviations and State Capitals Provides state names, standard abbreviations, postal abbreviations, and state capitals, along with links to states official web sites.Watch Video: Decline of the Great Salt Lake in satellite imagesĪ few months after experts shockingly predicted the Great Salt Lake could dry up within five years, Mother Nature dropped an unexpected reprieve: The biggest Utah snowpack in recorded history. Country Calling Codes Searchable database of long distance calling codes for countries and cities overseas.Yellow Pages International Calling Codes Listing of long distance calling codes for countries and cities overseas.Area Code Finder Tool for determining the area code of a locality, or the locality of an area code.This site allows users to search by area code or locality, displays area codes by state, and provides the time zone of area codes.Phonebook of the World Allows users to search by country or by map. ![]() Numberway Provides links to international directories on all continents.Infobels International Telephone Directories Provides links to directories worldwide.Telephone and City Directories in the Library of Congress Telephone, Addresses, and E-mail Directories ( University of Tennessee Library).Directories (Electronic Reference Sources) ( Rutgers University Libraries).Zip codes, state abbreviations, package delivery information. Internet links to e-mail and street addresses, telephone directories,
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