Antelope Island comprises more than 28,000 acres; it's 15 miles long, and 4.5 miles across at its widest point. There are some really beautiful rocky formations, including Frary Peak, the highest point on the island (6,596 above sea level), which we didn't get to. We did make it part way up, though, and were able to admire some of the views of the lake.
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From Antelope Island & The Great Salt Lake |
Some of the rocks on Antelope Island are some of the oldest in the state; for example, the Farmington Canyon is 1.7 billion years old, and is the same age as the rocks found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. These rocks comprise the southern two-thirds of the island.
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From Antelope Island & The Great Salt Lake |
The northern one-third of the island includes 550 million year old-tintin Quartzite, which had been deposited in a shallow marine environment. The youngest rocks on the island are ruff, which had been deposited by Lake Bonneville about 10,000-15,000 years ago, and which typically resembles concrete.
The Great Salt Lake itself is the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River, and is a remnant of the pre-historic Pleistocene-era Lake Bonneville, a pluvial lake (landlocked basin) that had been filled with rainwater during times of glaciation, when precipitation was higher; it's since large evaporated. Lake Bonneville had been the largest of many of the glacial lakes in the western United States, covering most of Utah and portions of Idaho and Nevada. At one point, Lake Bonneville had spanned more than 20,000 square miles and was more than 1,000 feet deep; the current Great Salt Lake and the dried-up Sevier Lake are all that remain.
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From Antelope Island & The Great Salt Lake |
The hillsides of Antelope Island and the Salt Lake Valley are marked with terraces formed by past lake levels, which you can see slightly in the picture below. Just imagine a lake covering large portions of the pictured hillsides.
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From Antelope Island & The Great Salt Lake |
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From Antelope Island & The Great Salt Lake |
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