The Great Salt Lake is actually the remainder of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which covered some 20,000 square miles of land in what is now Utah, Nevada and Idaho some 10,000 to 30,000 years ago. Ancient Lake Bonneville's relatively fresh water was derived from direct precipitation, rivers, streams, and water from melting glaciers.

In 1959, a 30-foot stone railroad causeway was built across the lake, drastically reducing circulation, and separating Great Salt Lake into two distinct sections, the north arm and the south arm. Sixty-six percent of the fresh water entering the lake is from the Bear, Weber and Jordan Rivers, all of which flow into the south arm. This, he water in the north arm stays at a relatively constant high salt concentration of approximately 26–28% due to little freshwater input. The north arm of Great Salt Lake is so salty that the water is pink in color and salt precipitates onto all surfaces.
Source(s):
http://www.utah.com/stateparks/great_salt_lake.htm
http://geology.utah.gov/online/PI-39/pi39pg01.htm
http://wildlife.utah.gov/gsl/facts/properties.php

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