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:''Not to be confused with a different Antelope Island on the border of Arizona and Utah in Lake Powell.'' Antelope Island, with an area of , is the largest island of 10 islands located within the Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States. The island lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City and Davis County, and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels. The first known non-natives to visit the island, "we rode on horseback over salt from the thickness of a wafer to twelve inches", were John C. Fremont and Kit Carson during exploration of the Great Salt Lake in 1845, who "were informed by the Indians that there was an abundance of fresh water on it and plenty of antelope".〔Carson, K., Autobiography, 1935, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 0803250312, p.89〕 It is said they shot a pronghorn antelope on the island and in gratitude for the meat they named it Antelope Island. Antelope Island has natural scenic beauty and holds populations of pronghorn, bighorn sheep, American bison, porcupine, badger, coyote, bobcat, and millions of waterfowl. The bison were introduced to the island in 1893, and Antelope Island Bison Herd has proven to be a valuable genetic pool for bison breeding and conservation purposes. The bison do well because much of the island is covered by dry, native grassland. The geology of Antelope Island consists mostly of alluvial plains with prairie grassland on the north, east and south of the island, along with a mountainous central area of older Precambrian metamorphic and igneous rocks and late Precambrian to Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, covered by a thin layer of Quaternary lake deposits, colluvium and alluvium.〔(physiography )〕 The Precambrian deposits on Antelope Island are some of the oldest rocks in the United States, older even than the Precambrian rocks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. ==State Park== Antelope Island State Park is a Utah State Park and the entire island is included in the park. Early in the 20th Century, because of its wildlife and scenic beauty, some suggested that Antelope Island should become a National Park, but the movement never came to fruition.〔http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,722719,00.html | title = Sport: Hunt | date = 1926-11-25 | accessdate = 2010-01-24 | publisher = Time Inc〕 When the Utah State Parks System was created, proposals were made to turn Antelope Island into Antelope Island State Park and the proposal gradually gathered public support, but Antelope Island was privately owned at the time. Originally, Antelope Island was used as a ranch for cattle and sheep, starting from the earliest days of the arrival of the Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) controlled the ranch on the island from 1848 until approximately 1870. The island was purchased in 1870 by John Dooly, Sr, and he established the Island Improvement Company which managed the island and ranches from 1884 until 1981. The State of Utah purchased the northern part of the island in 1969, and acquiring the remainder in 1981 when the state purchased the historical Fielding Garr Ranch. Subsequently the cattle and sheep were removed. The Antelope Island State Park was established in 1981 as part of the Utah State Parks System. The island is accessible via a 7-mile causeway from Syracuse in Davis County. Access from I-15 is via exit 332,〔(UDOT Milepost Project: Progress Detail I-15 )〕 then west along Antelope Drive (SR-108). The island's shore (all but west side of the island) is mostly flat with beaches and plains to the base of the mountains on the island. These steep mountains are visible from most of the northern Wasatch Front, reaching a maximum elevation of , which is about above the level of the lake. Antelope Island State Park operates a 10-watt travelers information station on 530 kHz AM. The transmitter is on the south side of the causeway near the island. This station can be heard in Ogden and as far south as Salt Lake City.〔(Salt Lake City DX Log )〕 It carries information about the park's hours of operation, as well as promotes upcoming events that the state park coordinates.〔(WPWA752 Traveler's Information Station Transmitter Site )〕 On the east side of the island, south of the causeway, is the Fielding Garr Ranch. Here is the oldest (Anglo) building in Utah that is still on its original foundation. It is managed as a historical 'demonstration' ranch. Classes are sometimes taught at the ranch and tours are available. During the warmer parts of the year horses are also available for hourly rental at the ranch, and a tour guide can take riders out to observe the bison. The southern part of the road to the Fielding Garr Ranch is controlled by a gate which is only open from 9 AM to 6 PM on most days. Antelope Island State Park has approximately 300,000 visitors annually. For the year 2010 it was the 5th most visited State Park in Utah.〔(Park Visitation Data | Utah State Parks )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Antelope Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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