Artist depiction by Nataniil of istockphoto.com.
Creature Statistics
Maximum Observed Size: 96ft long
Known Immunities: None
Known Weaknesses: Loud Noises
Background
Salt Worms are gargantuan creatures that live in The Great Salt Plains of Oklahoma. Salt Worms are elusive by nature and have rarely been observed by humans. They are active from mid-winter until early spring every third year, except leap years.
Every third winter these huge creatures awaken from hibernation deep underground and burrow through the earth with their mouths open, consuming massive amounts of buried clay. They digest the clay and excrete (that is a fancy word for poop) salt crystals.
The Great Salt Plains state park where the worms preside is closed during the winter and early spring months every year. Even though the worms are only active every third year, except leap years, it was speculated that Oklahoma politicians are too stupid to successfully keep track of what year it is, so the state park is closed every winter just to be safe.
Recent Sightings
The most recent sighting of a Salt Worm occurred on January 30, 2025, when a park ranger was checking to make sure there were no out-of-season visitors illegally trespassing on park land. Fortunately, no one was harmed in this encounter, but three of the trespassing children did report having to leave behind several shovels and their favorite bucket as they were quickly evacuated to safety.
History
The first officially recorded sighting of a Salt Worm occurred in December of 1929. To protect the Salt Worms and our precious inland supply of salt, President Herbert Hoover signed an executive order on March 26, 1930, that designated the area of the Salt Fork east of Cherokee, Oklahoma, as a national wildlife refuge. In 1958 the State of Oklahoma leased eight hundred acres of the wildlife refuge to create The Great Salt Plains state park.
It in September 1938, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on a dam that would later create the Great Salt Plains Lake. Construction of the dam continued for several years and is believed to have pre-maturely awoken several Salt Worms from hibernation. The Salt Worms were observed aggressively breaking through the surface of the ground and kicking up large clouds of dust and salt. Although not the primary cause, this is believed to be a contributing factor in the Dust Bowl.
It just goes to show you that even Salt Worms are grumpy when you interrupt their nap.
Sources
https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=GR036