The first world land-speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats was set on Septemby Sir Malcolm Campbell.World land-speed record times represent an electronically timed average of two runs over the measured mile within a one hour time period - one run in each direction. Timing of the world land-speed record runs is under jurisdiction of the United States Automobile Club.

Due to the curvature of the earth, it is impossible to see from one end of the course to the other. The total length for the measured mile course varies from year to year but for recent runs, it has been laid out in a path 80 feet wide and 10 miles long with a black reference stripe down the middle. The elevation along the course is approximately 4,218 feet. Utah’s famed measured mile is located approximately seven miles beyond the marker and rest stop along I-80 in the middle of the vast salt flats. In addition to landspeed racing, the Utah Rocket Club and the National Archery Association hold events each year.Īccording to a sign erected by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in June 1972: Racetracks are surveyed and prepared with heavy drag sleds that smooth out the surface of the salt. Army officer who explored the Intermountain West in the 1830sĮach summer, professional and amateur teams from around the world compete for landspeed records in different vehicle classes at annual events such as Speedweek, held each August since 1949. Geologist Grove Karl Gilbert named the area after Benjamin Bonneville, a U.S.

Total salt crust volume has been estimated at 147 million tons or 99 million cubic yards of salt!.The crust is almost 5 feet thick in places near the center of the salt flats, with the depth tapering off to less than 1 inch as you get to the edges.The Bonneville Salt Flats are comprised of approximately 90% common table salt.The salt flats are about 12 miles long and 5 miles wide with total area coverage of just over 46 square miles. The Bonneville Salt Flats are a 30,000 acre expanse of hard, white salt crust on the western edge of the Great Salt Lake basin in Utah.

So instead, we waited for the drive home to walk out onto the famed Utah salt flats. On our drive to Colorado, we passed through the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and while I wanted to stop, the train tracks run alongside eastbound I-80 and block access to the salt flats from the rest stop.

Salt flats of utah