ISLAND FACTSAntelope Island, nestled in the south tip of the Great Salt Lake, is the largest island in the lake. The island is approximately 15 miles long and 5 miles wide and is 28,240 acres in size. The actual size of the island varies according to the level of the lake; at low levels, the island becomes a peninsula connecting to the mainland at the southern end of the island. Antelope Island is primarily a grassland community, with several species of grass. The perimeter of the island consists of wetlands and beautiful, white sand beaches. The island rises 6,596 feet above sea level at its highest point, Frary Peak, which is over 2,000 feet above the lake level. There are forty major natural fresh-water springs as well as many small springs that help to support the islands numerous species of wildlife. Antelope Island was named by John C. Fremont for the antelope that they used for food while on the island. Antelope Island is part of a basin and range mountain formation located between the Wasatch and Sierra Nevada ranges. AS the plates forming the earth's outer crust slide across a core of semi-liquid magma, they either pull away or collide with each other. Basin and range formations occur when plates pull apart, stretching the earth's brittle crust. As this happens, part of the land slips on a cleavage plain or a fault, creating mountains where the section of ground between two faults falls to a lower elevation. Antelope Island is one such mountain. The oldest rocks on Antelope Island are some of the oldest found anywhere on earth. The Farmington Canyon complex, at 2.7 billion years old, is older than rocks found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. These rocks, which are banded and contorted, comprise the southern two-thirds of the island.
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Tintic Quartzite, found on the northern third of the island, is 550 million years old and was deposited in a shallow marine environment. Quartzite, which is metamorphose sandstone, can be seen around the visitor center. The youngest rocks on the island are tufa, deposited by Lake Bonneville only 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. Tufa deposits typically resemble concrete and can be best observed on the Buffalo Point trail.