In a chilly dance of chemistry and climate, Great Salt Lake has once again played host to an extraordinary natural phenomenon: the emergence of rare mirabilite formations, revealed on its briny expanse. According to Great Salt Lake News, these ephemeral structures make their presence known in a scant few locations worldwide, with Utah's iconic lake being one among the exalted list that includes the Canadian Arctic, Antarctica, and Central Spain.

It's a fascinating, though fleeting, spectacle. The Utah Geological Survey sheds light on the alchemy behind their creation, when sodium sulfate-rich water greets the cold air, crystals bind together resulting in these remarkable mounds. And while mirabilite a form of hydrated sodium sulfate also known as Glauber’s salt, is not uncommon in saline lakes around the globe, the formations that arose on November 21 stand out due to their spring-fed origins, as stated by Great Salt Lake News.

The distinctiveness of the mirabilite mounds at Great Salt Lake is their reliance on underwater springs loaded with sodium sulfate, which manifested visibly for the first time in October 2019 and was duly noted by the Utah Geological Survey's website. These natural sculptures, however transient, capture the imagination for the time they remain visible, standing as stoic sentinels on the lake's surface until they succumb to the inevitabilities of warmer temperatures or rising waters, transitioning into thenardite or diminishing entirely.