Promontory, Utah: Spiral Jetty

The Spiral Jetty is a land art built in 1970 by American sculptor Robert Smithson. It is made primarily from basalt rocks collected near the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah. The Jetty is 1,500 foot long, 15 foot wide counterclockwise coil jutting into The Great Salt Lake. The Jetty is is only visible when the lake is below the elevation of 4,197.8 feet.

In 1970, during the jetty's construction the water level of the lake was unusually low, but within a few years the water level returned to normal -- covering the jetty, and it remained so for the next thirty years. In 2004 lake levels dropped and the jetty was completely exposed for almost a year due to the low water level. But by early 2005 it was once again mostly covered by water due to snow melt. During my visit there in July 2009 the lake had once again dropped significantly, and the jetty was clearly visible.