A lone man perches on an outcrop on Gunnison Island amid the shimmering expanse of Great Salt Lake, the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere.

Though the lake’s waters are too salty for all but a few hearty species, including brine shrimp and brine flies, its wetlands support millions of migratory shorebirds and waterfowl. The mile-long (1.6-kilometer-long) island, situated on the northwest side of the lake, is home to tens of thousands of pelicans and seagulls.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, “Utah’s Shining Oasis,” April 1975, National Geographic magazine)