I did my research project at Antelope Island. This landmark is located north west of Salt Lake
City and is rich in geological history. The island is 15 miles long and about 4.5 miles wide and is part
of a basin and range formation between the Wasatch and Sierra Nevada ranges. Antelope Island
contains rocks that are some of the oldest rocks found in Utah; The Farmington Canyon complex.
These rocks are about 1.7 billion years old and the southern part of the island is mainly made up of
them. (Antelope Island State Park, 2014). The Farmington Canyon Complex is one of six formations on
Antelope Island. The other formations are, The Mineral Fork Formation, Kelley Canyon Formation,
Tintic Formation, Salt Lake Formation, and an unnamed formation made up of sandstone and
mudstone. (Geological Map of Antelope Island, Davis County Utah, 1990).
The Farmington Canyon Complex is made up of rocks from the Precambrian time. This rock
formation is only exposed in two parts of Utah, one being on Antelope Island. This old formation of
rocks can be found on the southern two-thirds of the island.(King, J. 2000). The Mineral Fork
Formation comes from the late Proterozoic time period and was deposited during continental
glaciation(King, J. 2000). The Kelley Canyon Formation contains fossils or corals and brachipods and
lies over the Mineral Fork Formation. Overlying the Kelly Canyon Formation is the Salt Lake
Formation, which mainly consists of sandstone and mudstone.(King, J. 2000). Lake Bonneville was
one of the last influences to shape the island, as it use to cover most of it at one time. Wavebuilt and
wavecut shorelines are evidence of this, along with the deposits of tufa, gravel, and sand. (King, J.
2000). During my visit I was able to spot the etched shorelines left from Lake Bonneville from a high
point on the northern-western part of the island.
The island is also known to some familiar rocks that I've learned about in class, one of those
being Tintic Quartzite which is metamorphosed sandstone. Towards the northern part of the island, near
the visitors center, I was able to easily identify the quartzite rocks that were in that surrounding area
based on what I've learned in class and from the examples that I've observed.
References
China University of Geosciences (Beijing). (2012). Precambrian supercontinents, glaciations,
atmospheric oxygenation, metazoan evolution and an impact that might have changed the
second half of earth history. Geoscience Frontiers. Retrieved from http://ac.elscdn.com/S1674987112000898/1-s2.0-S1674987112000898-main.pdf?_tid=f8f00694-7ce011e5-b843-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1445974319_aa761a0bc43d46756b742981f1015424
Eardley, A., & Hatch, R. (n.d.). Pre-Cambrian Crystalline Rocks of North-Central Utah. The Journal of
Geology J GEOL, 58-72.
Geological Map of Antelope Island, Davis County, Utah [Map] (1990). Utah Department of Natural
Resources
King, J. (2000). The geology of Antelope Island, Davis County, Utah. Salt Lake City: Utah Geological
Survey.
Nolan, T. B. (1962). Geological survey research. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?i
d=lE_wAAAAMAAJ&ots=579jb5Y3FH&dq=antelope%20island%20geology&lr&pg=SL5PA28#v=onepage&q=antelope%20island%20geology&f=false
Utah State Parks(2014) Antelope Island State Park (Brochure)
Wilkerson, C. The Rockhounder: Oolitic Sand on Stansbury Island, Tooele County. (n.d.).
Retrieved November 30,
2015, from http://geology.utah.gov/popular/places-to-go/rock
mineral-collecting-sites/the- rockhounder-oolitic-sand-on-stansbury-island-tooele-county/
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