Robert Smithson was a leader of the land art movement, which emerged in the late 1960s as artists rejected galleries and museums for the landscape itself. He believed art should engage with entropy and geological time, not resist it. Smithson chose the Great Salt Lake for Spiral Jetty after searching for the right location throughout the American West. The site combined everything he sought: industrial decay (an abandoned oil drilling operation), prehistoric history (the salt lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville), and visual drama (the red water, white salt, black basalt). Smithson died in a plane crash in 1973 while surveying another earthwork project. He was 35.

In April 1970, Smithson leased the lakeshore land and hired contractors to move 6,650 tons of black basalt rocks and earth into the lake. The work took six days. The spiral coils counterclockwise from the shore, 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide, reaching water about knee-deep at the time of construction. The form references the salt crystals that precipitate from the lake, the mythical whirlpools supposedly at the lake's center, and the spiral as a universal symbol. Smithson documented the construction and the finished work in a film, 'Spiral Jetty,' which ensured the work's fame even when the physical jetty was invisible.

Within a few years of construction, the Great Salt Lake's level rose, submerging Spiral Jetty. For nearly 30 years, the work existed only in photographs, film, and memory. Art critics debated whether the invisible jetty still counted as art, whether Smithson would have wanted it to reappear, whether the work's meaning changed when it couldn't be seen. The lake level fluctuated; occasionally the jetty was glimpsed. In 2002, a prolonged drought dropped the lake level significantly, and Spiral Jetty emerged fully - but transformed. Salt crystals had encrusted every rock, turning the black basalt white. The jetty Smithson built was gone; something stranger had taken its place.

Visiting Spiral Jetty requires commitment. The drive from Salt Lake City takes about two hours, the last 15 miles on unpaved road. There are no facilities, no markers, no admission. You arrive at a shoreline, and there it is - the spiral extending into water that may be red, pink, or blue depending on bacterial blooms and mineral concentration. The scale is impressive but not overwhelming; you can walk the entire spiral in 20 minutes. The remoteness is the point. Smithson wanted visitors to experience the journey, the desolation, the encounter with geological time. The jetty is visible from Google Earth, but it's meant to be walked.

Spiral Jetty is located on the northeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake, about 100 miles northwest of Salt Lake City. Take I-15 north to Golden Spike National Historical Park, then follow signs west to Rozel Point. The last 15 miles are unpaved; high-clearance vehicles are recommended but not essential in dry weather. The road is impassable when wet. There are no facilities at the site - bring water, sunscreen, and everything you need. The jetty may be submerged during high water years; check current conditions before visiting. The Dia Art Foundation, which owns the work, provides directions and updates. Salt Lake City International Airport is the nearest commercial service. Allow a full day.