Pilot Valley Playa (Nevada and Utah)

The Pilot Valley Playa is a playa and salt pan in Box Elder County, Utah and Elko County, Nevada that is a remnant of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville. Located in northwestern Utah and northeastern Nevada, the Pilot Valley Playa varies from five to ten miles wide, and is thirty miles long, with an elevation just above 4200 feet. It is bordered by the Pilot Mountains to the west, and the Silver Island Mountains to the southeast.[1]

Pilot Valley Playa
Pilot Valley Playa Utah and Nevada, United States
Floor elevation	4,200 ft (1,300 m)
Length	30 mi (50 km), north to south
Width	5–10 mi (8–16 km)
Geography
Borders on	west: Pilot Range southeast: Silver Island Range
Coordinates	41°00′N 113°54′W

Springs are located in the alluvial fans at the base of the Pilot Range, and no water flows from the Silver Island Mountains. Shallow groundwater (e.g., Bettridge Creek, with threatened Lahotan cutthroat trout) along the western edge of the playa varies from fresh water to brine over a distance of about 2,000 feet.[2]

Pilot-Thousand Springs Watershed

The Pilot Valley Playa gets very little precipitation, experiences extreme temperatures and high wind speeds.[3]

The playa is within the Pilot-Thousand Springs Watershed (USGS Huc 16020307), a 1,780 sq mi (4,600 km²) endorheic area.

View ESE of the Great Salt Lake Desert and northwest flank of Silver Island Mountains as seen from Pilot Peak, 15 mi NW.

References

1. Field Guide to Geologic Excursions in Utah and Adjacent Areas of Nevada
2. RECHARGE OF A FRESH WATER-BRINE GROUNDWATER SYSTEM, PILOT VALLEY Playa
3. RHIZOLITH STABLE ISOTOPE PATTERNS FROM PILOT VALLEY PLAYA, UTAH

• Lines, Gregory C. (1979). Hydrology and Surface Morphology of the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley Playa, Utah [Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2057]. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office.