Bristol Dry Lake
Near Amboy On Historic Rt 66
Ever wonder where that salt at your table comes from? Well, Bristol Dry Lake is one of the sources. With 60 million tons in reserve, you will be able to salt your food for some time to come. Bristol Lake is dry lake bed in the desert near the Mojave National Preserve. The lake is still actively mined.
Bristol Lake is located 3 miles east of Amboy with an elevation of about 600 feet. The mineral halite, (sodium chloride - NaCl), occurs as a crystal body underlying the lake. The surface of the playa lake is composed of sand, clay, and gypsum. Bristol Lake is in the California Mojave desert, near Amboy. Two interesting materials present are sulfates and halite. The surface material is thinnest at the southern portion of Bristol Dry Lake and thickens to the north. In the southern portion of the dry lake, the overburden does not exceed 3 feet in thickness. The crystal body is of high-grade halite, crystallized in cubes, filled with brine which is principally calcium chloride. Click here for a video on the area.
Some mud, largely of volcanic ash origin, is found with the salt body. The salt body has an average thickness of 5 feet. Underlying this salt body is a bed of bluish clay 8 to 10 feet in thickness and then another bed of salt reported to average 5 feet in thickness. The lake is covered by a few inches of water in the winter, but for the most part it's dry and very salty. Managed by the BLM.
Below is a picture of the lake after a major rain in 2010.
For a Book and Map of the area see our
Mojave National Preserve Introductory Package
For a Book and Map of the area see our
Mojave National Preserve Introductory Package
Other locations to visit in Mojave Desert
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Road Trips Videos
Exploring Route 66 - Historic Mohave Desert Sites
Amboy Road at Sheeps Hole Pass looks into the big basin of Bristol Dry Lake, which was covered by the sea about four million years ago. Across the salt lake, Amboy Dry Crater rises in the distance. The town of Amboy dates back to 1858; it became a critical gas and rest stop on Route 66 after World War II. When I-40 bypassed it in 1972, Amboy almost became a ghost town. Follow the DesertUSA team as they revisit old Route 66 in the Mohave and take a look at some historic sites along the way.
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