Pano Title: The Sentry
Shoot Location: Antelope Island, Great Salt Lake, Utah
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"The Sentry"
Our "Global Wave" pano was taken, suitably, on Antelope Island, the largest island on the Great Salt Lake, and accessible via a man-made causeway. The island is about 15 miles (24 km) long and about 5 miles (8 km) wide. The Great Salt Lake itself is about 85 miles long by 40 miles wide (about 135 km by 65 km), and 30 feet (10 m) at its deepest. Thanks to the Utah State Parks Department, and two friends with rugged vehicles, we were able to access areas of the island not normally open to the public. Our vantage point for this pano was atop The Sentry, a small hill "guarding" two prominent ridges of the old Bonneville lake level, which you can see to the northerly and southerly directions. (Zoom all the way out or pan up to view the "sky compass" at the top of the panorama.) The lines of snow and of rock rubble mimic the waves once lapping along these ridges, slowly wearing them down thousands of years ago. To our southeast is Salt Lake City, though unfortunately, the warm sun on the cold lake caused a slight haze which prevented a clear view of the city. An interesting tidbit: Scientists have determined that the Antelope Island is now higher in elevation than when Lake Bonneville was present. The weight of the huge lake actually depressed the Earth's crust by about 8 feet (almost 2 m).
About our three panoramas: Lake Bonneville
Ancient Lake Bonneville, once about 1,000 ft (305 m) deep, covered much of what is now Utah, as well as parts of Nevada and Idaho. About 20,000 years ago, a mountain pass in "Idaho" collapsed, starting the events that ultimately drained the lake. All that remain today are the Great Salt Lake, several other nearby lakes, the Bonneville Salt Flats, lots of desert areas, and some enormous "bathtub rings" etched on the surrounding mountain ranges. The highest of these, at an elevation of 5,200 ft (1,585 m), indicates the level of Lake Bonneville. This is the common thread linking our "Wrinkle in Time II" entries.
Technical details for this panorama:
Global Wave Shoot
Time: 11:00 am, US Mountain Time
Location: 40° 55' 2'' North, 112° 11' 49'' West
Elevation: 5,449 ft (1,660 m)
Equipment: Minolta Maxxum 7000, 24mm AF lens, Kiwi+ panhead, 12 frames
Tools: PowerMac 7500/604e/180MHz, Adobe PhotoShop, Apple QTVR Authoring Studio, frequent prayers
Note: No animals were sacrificed in the making of this panorama. ;-)
Thanks, "Rabbett," for devising and organizing the "Wrinkle in Time" project! The VR's in "Wrinkle 1" exposed us to QTVR in a big way, and now we are extremely excited to be actually contributing to "Wrinkle 2." May there be many, many more!
Rich and Ziggy
Utah, March 20, 1998