Saleratus (Playa) Lake/Sweetwater Pony Express Station

Location: Approximately 8.5 miles southwest of the intersection of the Oregon Trail Road(County Road 319) and State Highway 220; about 1.6 miles northeast of Independence Rock. The lake is located on the north side of the Oregon Trail and almost one mile southeast of the highway.

Wagon

History: The alkali deposits at Saleratus Lake provided the Mormons with a raw form of baking soda. william Clayton advised emigrants in his 1848 Guide to gather "saleratus" but noted that the water was poisonous. One emigrant party in June 1847 noted that "the efflorescent white bicarbonate of soda" made bread of a "suspiciously green cast" if not used in moderation. Sir richard Burton described Saleratus Lake during his travels in 1860.

East Map · West Map · Salt Creek Oil Field Tour

Stop 1 Oregon Trail Burial - Quintina Snoderly · Stop 2 Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park · Stop 3 Richard's (Reshaw's) Bridge and Trading Post · Stop 4 Mormon Ferry, Probable Second Site · Stop 5 Mormon Ferry, Probable First Site · Stop 6 Fort Caspar · Stop 7 Battle of Red Buttes · Stop 8 Bessemer Bend/Red Buttes Crossing · Stop 9 Emigrant Gap · Stop 10 Avenue of Rocks/Devil's Backbone/Clayton's Slough · Stop 11 Willow Springs · Stop 12 Prospect Hill/Ryan Hill · Stop 13 Horse Creek (Greasewood) · Stop 14 Saleratus (Playa) Lake/Sweetwater Pony Express Station · Stop 15 Independence Rock · Stop 16 Devil's Gate · Stop 17 Martin's Cove · Stop 18 Split Rock

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