Sun Tunnels, Land art installation in Box Elder County, United States
Four concrete cylindrical tunnels form an X pattern in the Great Basin Desert, measuring 86 feet diagonally with holes representing constellation patterns.
Artist Nancy Holt constructed Sun Tunnels between 1973 and 1976, transforming the Utah desert into an astronomical observation point through concrete structures.
Each concrete tunnel contains perforations mapping the stars of different constellations: Draco, Perseus, Columba, and Capricorn, connecting art with celestial patterns.
The installation requires visitors to drive through dirt roads near Lucin with sufficient water, food, and fuel supplies due to its remote desert location.
During summer and winter solstices, the sun aligns perfectly with the tunnels at sunrise and sunset, creating precise light projections through the concrete cylinders.
Location: Box Elder County
Inception: 1976
Creator: Nancy Holt
Made from material: concrete
GPS coordinates: 41.30349,-113.86380
Latest update: June 6, 2025 15:07
Utah preserves thousands of years of human history alongside some of North America's most varied geological landscapes. The region contains extensive rock art panels and Ancestral Pueblo ruins, including the 13th-century stone structures at Bears Ears National Monument and the 650-plus petroglyphs carved into Newspaper Rock over two millennia. Fremont Indian State Park displays more than 1,000 artifacts from the indigenous peoples who inhabited these lands, while fossilized dinosaur tracks near Moab record the passage of Allosaurus and Diplodocus across ancient mudflats 150 million years ago. The natural environment ranges from the sculpted sandstone formations of Goblin Valley, where erosion has created mushroom-shaped rocks rising 20 feet (6 meters) from the desert floor, to the narrow passages of Kanarra Creek Canyon with its red walls and cascading waterfalls. The Wedge Overlook reveals 1,000-foot (300-meter) cliffs above the San Rafael River, while Monroe's thermal springs emerge from the ground at 110°F (43°C). Whether exploring slot canyons, examining ancient handprints on rock walls, or walking among eroded sandstone formations, visitors encounter landscapes that document both geological processes spanning millions of years and the enduring presence of human cultures in this high desert region.
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