Great Salt Lake

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A lake on the Esthar continent. What used to be a beautiful lake is now a barren field. It's speculated that Esthar's experiments led to the lake's destruction.
FFVIII Info Corner

The Great Salt Lake is a location in Final Fantasy VIII. It is where Squall and the party manage to enter the hidden city of Esthar.

Its name is sometimes confused with "The Salt Flats", which is the title for the location's music.

Story

The region used to be home to the eponymous Great Salt Lake, but experiments conducted by the nearby country of Esthar destroyed all life, leaving behind large exposed fossils, including the undead bones of Abadon. The former image was taken during Laguna's time and he used the picture in one of his Timber Maniacs articles. However, during the time the player party passes through the area, the lake is dried up and the city looming in the horizon has vanished.

Squall, carrying the unconscious Rinoa on his back, passes through the Great Salt Lake accompanied by Zell, Selphie, Edea, Quistis, and Irvine on their trip to Esthar to find out why Rinoa has fallen unconscious. After defeating the undead boss, Squall and the party arrive at a dead end; a cliff overlooking an endless landscape of salt.

When they try to find a way down, the party notices a strange flicker at one end of the cliff. Touching the flicker, a ladder appears out of thin air, leading to a dark chamber. Without hesitation, the party climbs up the ladder into a chamber filled with hexagon panels, learning it is part of Esthar's Optical Camouflage System (OCS) used to hide the entire city from outside view.

Layout

Seaside Station

A station on the Esthar side of Horizon Bridge. It is currently abandoned.
FFVIII Info Corner

An abandoned station at the end of the Horizon Bridge. Just a few miles from it lies the Great Salt Lake.

Salt Flats

The lifeless landscape is ridden with dinosaur skeletons and draw points can be found by walking along the paths formed by them.

Draw points: Meteor (hidden, never refills), Thundaga

Canyon

The monster Abadon hides in the depths of the old lake to challenge those who try to cross its flats.

Dead End

At one of the dead ends of the cliff the player can find a hidden save point.

Location

GreatSaltLakeLoc — Location of the Great Salt Lake, indicated by the crosshair.

Located just west of Esthar City, the Great Salt Lake is on the western side of Esthar's camouflage wall that hides the city from the outside world.

FFVIII Great Salt Lake WM — The Great Salt Lake on the world map.

Enemies

This list applies to the monsters found within and around the Great Salt Lake area.

Interior of the Great Salt Lake (Cannot be revisited)

Before Lunar Cry (Exterior)

After Lunar Cry (Exterior)

Musical theme

Template:Listen "The Salt Flats" is the area's theme music.

Other appearances

Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade

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