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Desert Lake

Ghost town · Emery County, Utah

Cleveland quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1969, 1:24,000)
Cleveland quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1969, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Desert Lake is a ghost town in Emery County, Utah. It is one of 6 former communities in Emery County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 11th among the 28 Utah counties with a vanished settlement on record.

Desert Lake was established in 1885, in the late 19th century.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Desert Lake as a historical populated place: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 39.3733° N, 110.7825° W.

Key facts

Founded1885
Elevation5,573 ft
Nearest living townElmo, UT
Distance to it2 miles
Coordinates39.37333, -110.78250

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Desert Lake is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Elmo, UT (population 433), about 2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 5,573 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Desert Lake?

Desert Lake is in Emery County, Utah, at 39.3733, -110.7825.

How many ghost towns are in Emery County?

Emery County, Utah has 6 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.