Water In, Water Out

Where is Water In, Water Out?
Our Water In, Water Out interactive was built using Adobe Flash which is no longer supported in modern web browsers. We are actively converting our old Flash pieces into new formats that will be supported long into the future. We hope to have Water In, Water Out back online in the near future.

Slide the controls to see how the balance between water coming in and water going out influences a lake's elevation and its salinity. Think about how changes in the water's salinity might influence the creatures that live there.

Water In

Like the lake above, water flowing into Great Salt Lake comes from two main sources: precipitation and inflow from rivers. River water carries small amounts of dissolved minerals, which have become concentrated over thousands of years, making the lake salty and mineral-rich.

Water Out

Because this lake, like Great Salt Lake, sits at the bottom of a closed basin, no rivers flow out of it. The only way water can leave is through evaporation. When water evaporates, everything dissolved in it stays behind-including salt, minerals, and pollutants.


APA format:

Genetic Science Learning Center. (2014, October 1) Water In, Water Out. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/gsl/water/

CSE format:

Water In, Water Out [Internet]. Salt Lake City (UT): Genetic Science Learning Center; 2014 [cited 2024 Mar 24] Available from https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/gsl/water/

Chicago format:

Genetic Science Learning Center. "Water In, Water Out." Learn.Genetics. October 1, 2014. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/gsl/water/.