Antelope Island: the lost world of the Great Salt Lake (31 photos)

In the heart of Utah, in the middle of a sparkling salt desert, lies Antelope Island, the largest in the Great Salt Lake system.





This is a place where the salinity of the water reaches 22% (you can just lie on the surface, as if on a soft mattress), and the landscapes resemble alien spaces.

Inhabitants of the Salt Kingdom



Once upon a time, pronghorn antelopes actually lived here, giving the island its name. Today, bison roam the hills, coyotes hide in the bushes, and eagles circle in the sky. But the most amazing inhabitants are the brine shrimp and saltwater flies that cover the shores with a living carpet. In the 90s, the antelopes were returned here, and even earlier, in 1862, the island became a prison for Jean Baptiste, a thief who robbed... the dead.





Pronghorn Antelope

Baptiste's story is shrouded in mystery: why did he need clothes from 300 dead bodies? Abandoned on the island by order of Governor Brigham Young, he disappeared without a trace. And in 1877, salt workers swore that they saw a monster with the body of a crocodile and the head of a horse in the waters. Most likely, it was a bathing bison, but the legend of the North Shore Monster is still alive.



The real celebrity of the lake was a flamingo named Pink Floyd - an escapee from the enclosure, who stayed here for 18 years in the company of seagulls.

Bison, spiral and eternity



Every year, a bison race takes place on the island: the animals are driven into pens, checked and the surplus of the herd is sold. And a few kilometers from the shore lies the "Spiral Causeway" - a giant earth sculpture by Robert Smithson, extending into the salt waters.



Antelope Island is a place where reality is stranger than myth. Where bison roam the shores, flamingos sing in the salty wind, and ghosts of the past whisper in the fog over waters in which it is impossible to drown.













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