Editing Great Salt Lake (section)

===Islands===
Categorically stating the number of islands is difficult, as the method used to determine what is an island is not necessarily the same in each source. Since the water level of the lake can vary greatly between years, what may be considered an island in a high water year may be considered a peninsula in another, or an island in a low water year may be covered during another year. According to the [[U.S. Department of the Interior]] and the [[U.S. Geological Survey]], "there are eight named islands in the lake that have never been totally submerged during historic time. All have been connected to the mainland by exposed shoals during periods of low water." In addition to these eight islands, the lake also contains a number of rocks, reefs, or shoals that become fully or partially submerged at high water levels.<ref name="Hassible & Keck, pp. 11-12">{{harvp|Hassible|Keck|1993|pp= 11–12}}.</ref>

The Utah Geological Survey states "the lake contains 11 recognized islands, although this number varies depending on the level of the lake. Seven islands are in the southern portion of the lake and four in the northwestern portion."<ref name="pg05">{{cite web |url = http://geology.utah.gov/online_html/pi/pi-39/index.htm |title = Commonly Asked Questions About Utah's Great Salt Lake and Ancient Lake Bonneville |page = 05 |publisher = Utah Geological Survey |access-date = June 26, 2011 |archive-date = August 27, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130827195450/http://geology.utah.gov/online_html/pi/pi-39/index.htm |url-status = live }}</ref>

The size and whether they are counted as islands during any particular year depends mostly on the level of the lake. From largest to smallest, they are [[Antelope Island]], [[Stansbury Island]], [[Fremont Island]], [[Carrington Island]], Dolphin Island, [[Cub Island]], and Badger Island, and various named rocks, reefs, or shoals such as Strongs Knob, [[Gunnison Island]], Goose, Browns, Hat (Bird), Egg Island, Black Rock, and White Rock. Dolphin Island, Cub Island, and Strongs Knob are in the northwestern arm. The rest are in the southern portion of the Great Salt Lake.

[[Image:Antelope island sunset.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Sunset viewed from White Rock Bay, on the western shore of [[Antelope Island]]. Carrington Island is visible in the distance.]]

Black Rock, Antelope Island, White Rock, Egg Island, Fremont Island, and the [[Promontory Mountains|Promontory mountain range]] are each extensions of the [[Oquirrh Mountains|Oquirrh Mountain Range]], which dips beneath the lake at its southeastern shore. Stansbury, Carrington, and Hat Islands are extensions of the Stansbury mountain range, and Strongs Knob is an extension of the Lakeside Mountains which run along the lake's western shore.<ref name="Morgan pp18-19">{{harvp|Morgan|1947|pp= 18–19}}.</ref> The lake is deepest in the area between these island chains, measured by [[Howard Stansbury]] in 1850 at about {{convert|35|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} deep, and an average depth of 13 feet (four meters).<ref name="Morgan pp18-19"/> When the water levels are low, Antelope Island becomes connected to the shore as a [[peninsula]], as do Goose Islands, Browns Island,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.brainygeography.com/types/UT.island.html|title = Utah Islands |access-date = September 21, 2017 |archive-date = October 3, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181003013953/http://www.brainygeography.com/types/UT.island.html |url-status = live}}</ref> and some of the other islands. Stansbury Island and Strongs Knob remain peninsulas unless the water level rises well-above the average.