[2] Bristol Lake's mineralogy is described as having a bullseye pattern of minerals with lithofacies consisting of halite at the center surrounded by mud, gypsum, and finally a sand flat playa margin.

These minerals also have vertical lithofacies which resemble the horizontal facies stratification with gypsum occurring deeper in the playa followed by mud-halite and halite on top.

This is supported by the geometry of the deposit and by chemical data, which suggests that water precipitating gypsum in the playa is more associated with groundwater than the brine at the basin center.

[3] Thin crusts and hopper-shaped halite crystals that occur in the sediment are caused by evaporative growth from capillary brines discharging at the surface.

Other evidence of a magma chamber in the area is the Amboy Crater and its associated lava flows, which occur directly North of Bristol Lake.