The
Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the
U.S. state of
Utah, is the largest
salt water lake in the Western Hemisphere, and the fourth-largest
terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its shallowness. For instance, in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded level at 950 square miles (2,460 km²), but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic high of . In terms of surface area, it is the largest lake in the United States that is not part of the
Great Lakes region.