Great Salt Plains Lake is a reservoir located within the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma in the United States named because of the salt flats in the area and for the Salt Fork Arkansas River, which is dammed to form the lake. It is notable for the variety of birds that are attracted to Ralstin Island and also for the selenite crystals that can be collected along the shoreline. Recent droughts, most notably that of 2011, have had an adverse effect on the future of the lake.
Aerial view of Great Salt Plains Lake Dam on the Salt Fork Arkansas River
Selenite crystals dug up from the lake bed.
Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge
The Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States system of national wildlife refuges. It is located in Alfalfa County in northern Oklahoma, north of Jet, along Great Salt Plains Lake, which is formed by a dam on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River.
The Salt Plains near the Crystal digging area
A wet day at Crystal digging area of the Salt Plains
A hole dug in the Digging Area
Many selenite crystals found in a single day