World Art Utopia

Spiral Jetty

Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty, a coil of dark basalt rock on pale salt flats at the edge of the Great Salt Lake, seen from the shore
Artwork FileGreat Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Spiral Jetty

StandingDec 2024

Robert Smithson · 1970 · Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Photo: Matthew.kowal / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Robert Smithson built Spiral Jetty in spring 1970 from basalt rock and earth at Rozel Point on Utah's Great Salt Lake: a coil about 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide that winds counterclockwise. Owned by Dia Art Foundation since 1999, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2024. Source Source Source Checked

Latest dated evidence checked: Dia Art Foundation and Holt/Smithson Foundation announced the National Register listing on 17 Dec 2024; KSL reported the listing on 29 Dec 2024. Source Source Source Checked

💡 4 things to know

  1. Built from the site itselfThe jetty is made of black basalt rock and earth gathered at Rozel Point, now crusted with salt crystals. Source Source Checked
  2. Underwater for decadesRising water submerged the work a few years after completion; it has been visible since 2002 as the lake receded. Source Source Checked
  3. Now far from the waterThe Utah Museum of Fine Arts says the Great Salt Lake, which once covered the work, is now almost one mile away. Source Reported
  4. Historic placeSpiral Jetty was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in November 2024. Source Source Checked

📍 Where it is

Rozel Point, north arm of Great Salt Lake, Utah Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map search; no clearly framed Street View image was verified.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 201818 Jun

    The jetty seen from the shore, photographed by Matthew.kowal (Wikimedia Commons). Camera date.

  2. 202417 Dec

    Dia Art Foundation announces National Register listing.

  3. 202429 Dec

    KSL report on Utah's 2024 National Register additions.

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark removal. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Artist
Robert Smithson (1938–1973) Source Source Checked
Year
1970 (spring) Source Source Source Checked
Materials
Black basalt rock, earth, salt crystals Source Source Checked
Size
About 1,500 ft (457 m) long, 15 ft wide Source Source Checked
Owner
Dia Art Foundation (gift, 1999) Source Source Checked
Location
Rozel Point, north arm of Great Salt Lake, Utah Source Source Checked
Recognition
National Register of Historic Places, 2024 Source Source Source Checked

In the press

KSL.com · 2024-12-29 · Abravanel Hall, Spiral Jetty and 11 other Utah areas given national history honors in 2024
“He was drawn to the location because of its remoteness and the reddish salt water created by the arm's higher salinity.” Source Checked

Dia Art Foundation · 2024-12-17 · Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty Added to the National Register of Historic Places
“Considered one of the most important works of Land art in the world” Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Matthew.kowal / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Last checked: 26 October 2026 · How we verify art