Spiral Jetty, Earth sculpture at Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, United States.
Spiral Jetty is an earth sculpture at Rozel Point on the Great Salt Lake in the United States, built from black basalt rock, mud, and salt. The work curves in a counterclockwise spiral extending roughly 460 meters from shore into shallow water.
Robert Smithson created the work in April 1970 and documented the construction in a film of the same name. The sculpture disappeared beneath rising lake levels for decades afterward, resurfacing in the late 1990s.
Smithson named the work for its coiled form, a counterclockwise coil of basalt, mud and salt crystals that curls inward toward a central loop. Visitors can walk the length of the jetty and watch its surface change: black basalt when exposed, white with precipitated salt, pink-tinged water around it. Dia asks visitors not to remove rocks, light fires or trample vegetation.
The route follows unpaved roads that can become impassable when wet. Visitors should bring plenty of water and sun protection, as the area is remote and offers no shade.
The pink water around the black rocks forms due to salt-loving bacteria thriving in the lake's extreme salinity. The sculpture changes appearance with the seasons, sometimes dry, sometimes partly submerged.
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