Sunday, April 29, 2012

Antelope Island State Park at The Great Salt Lake

After visiting downtown Salt Lake City, we drove out to Antelope Island State Park at The Great Salt Lake.  It was so beautiful and interesting.  There are 3 rivers, plus the snow melt, that feeds the lake and there is no outlet, so the only way for the water to leave is evaporation.  The salt is left behind and that is why there is such a high concentration of salt.  In some areas there is 4 ft. of salt at the bottom of the lake and in some areas there is 6 times more salt than in the oceans.  It is said that anyone can float in the Great Salt Lake because the high saline content makes you very buoyant.  I tried to get Bob to try it, since he's never been able to float, but he declined.  The only marine life that survives in the lake are brine shrimp and algae.  The brine shrimp are very tiny and the birds feed on them.  The largest herd of buffalo in Utah is located on the island (over 500).  We did see quite a few, but we didn't see any antelopes, mule deer, pronghorns or coyotes.  Sadly, our visit to Utah will be over tomorrow, we are leaving for Montana.  There are still several places in this beautiful state that we want to visit, so we will definitely return in the near future.


This bison statue is called "Sacred Dreams".  Notice
how the spots are all bison-shaped cut-outs.

The causeway from the city to the island and the marina.
Most people don't leave their boats in the lake because
of the high salt content.

Cute little birdie!

A view of the shore of the Great Salt Lake.


Another view of the lake.

I never knew bison could read!  :-)

Six bison on a hillside.

A bison in the water.

These are the same bison that were on the hillside a
few minutes before.

Downtown Salt Lake City from the island.

Seriously???  We've never seen more than an 8%
grade.  It was one heck of a hill!

Birds at the island. 

I love how the mountains are reflecting in the lake.

Another beautiful snow-capped mountain.

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