Window Rock in West Wendover, Nevada
Lake Bonneville was an enormous Pleistocene lake that covered much of western Utah, extending into the edges of adjacent Nevada and Idaho, during the height of the last Ice Age. It reached its maximum extent and depth about 17.5 KYBP (thousand years before present). The lake eroded what's now called the Bonneville Shoreline at this level, around 5100 feet above present sea level. At its highest…
Lake Bonneville, a massive Pleistocene lake, dominated western Utah, parts of Nevada, and Idaho during the last Ice Age. At its peak approximately 17.5 KYBP, the lake stretched to a depth of 5100 feet above today's sea level. Its immense size led to its overflow over Red Rock Pass, in Idaho, causing a catastrophic flood to flow down the Snake River and ultimately into the Pacific via the Columbia River.
As the water eroded the channel, Lake Bonneville's level gradually decreased to around 4750 feet, where it encountered resistant bedrock, stabilizing the lake and forming the Provo Shoreline. For about a thousand years, a river flowed through this channel, serving as the lake's outlet. As the climate became drier, the lake's level fell below this outlet, leading to its eventual disappearance.
Despite the lake's demise, its erosive power left a lasting legacy. Window Rock, a large wave-cut arch, stands as a testament to this. Located at an elevation of about 4839 feet, this arch was carved during the lake's existence, when the ridge it now occupies was submerged in water.
Written by urgent.news from Atlas Obscura's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
