{"id":488,"date":"2010-04-08T04:57:44","date_gmt":"2010-04-08T10:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15bytes12\/2010\/04\/08\/spiral-jetty\/"},"modified":"2025-10-24T07:24:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T14:24:18","slug":"spiral-jetty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/spiral-jetty\/","title":{"rendered":"Spiral Jetty: Strata of Water"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

April 2005<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photos by Hikmet Sidney Loe<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert Smithson\u2019s first career choice was \u201cnaturalist.\u201d As he shifted his gaze towards art, his lifelong fascination with the materials of the earth and with the transformations that time manifests became incorporated into his work. The Spiral Jetty best embodies this synthesis of his life\u2019s interests: Smithson\u2019s internationally famous earthwork is iconic due to the perfect melding of matter and art, of idea and execution, and of place and time.<\/p>\n

The Spiral Jetty turns forty this month. Created over the span of several weeks in April 1970, it was conceived by Smithson and executed by a construction crew who moved rocks and earth to form a spiral of sculpted mass in the north arm of the Great Salt Lake. The ever-changing water that surrounds the Spiral Jetty forms a mirror spiral, hugging jetty rocks when the lake\u2019s level is near those found in 1970. The lake is an entity in flux, though, rising and falling in concert with the annual seasons and with the larger forces that bring flood and drought to the West. Levels tend to be highest each year in early summer as nearby mountain snows melt, draining into Great Salt Lake. Conversely, the lake\u2019s levels are lowest in the late fall (October, November) after the summer\u2019s heat has led to evaporation in this terminal lake.<\/p>\n

The Great Salt Lake sits at two levels \u2013 one on the north end, one on the south \u2013 having been virtually cut into two sections by the Lucin Cutoff, built across the lake in 1904. In April 1970, the lake at the North Arm was recorded at 4195.40 feet by the United States Geological Survey. The north arm\u2019s levels are calculated at Saline, on the southwest end of Promontory Mountain Range, not far from Rozel Point. Built when the lake was at a relatively low point, the Spiral Jetty appears and disappears according to the lake\u2019s levels. It is hard to imagine the 1987 level, when the lake was almost sixteen feet higher than the Spiral Jetty, just as it is easy to see how the drought has affected the area in recent years, as the lake\u2019s shoreline has meandered away from the shoreline of 1970, leaving the Spiral Jetty high and dry.<\/p>\n

One way to celebrate the Spiral Jetty\u2019s anniversary is to create a list. Smithson\u2019s interest in the strata of the earth was translated on occasion through numbers and lists depicting layers of matter. Smithson\u2019s childhood pediatrician, William Carlos Williams, included strata levels of earth at Paterson, New Jersey, in his epic poem,\u00a0Paterson<\/em>. This layering of earth, clay, and dirt is calculated and recorded by geologists, giving us a fascinating glimpse into layers of substance unseen from time long past. Rozel Point, the location of the Spiral Jetty, has been so charted: in 1963 the oil seeps of Rozel Point were delineated by the Utah Geological and Mineralogical Survey as layers of earth, asphalt, rock, mud, and clay hundreds of feet beneath the rough rocks and dusty earth of the region\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

Following are calculations for each April since 1970 \u2014 date, lake level, rise or fall of the lake\u2019s level based upon 1970\u2019s level \u2013 thus adding one more level of strata to the Spiral Jetty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
1970<\/td>\n4195.40\u2019<\/td>\n0.00\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1971<\/td>\n4195.85\u2019<\/td>\n0.45\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1972<\/td>\n4197.85\u2019<\/td>\n2.45\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1973<\/td>\n4198.55\u2019<\/td>\n3.15\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1974<\/td>\n4199.15\u2019<\/td>\n3.75\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1975<\/td>\n4198.80\u2019<\/td>\n3.40\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1976<\/td>\n4200.10\u2019<\/td>\n4.70\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1977<\/td>\n4199.30\u2019<\/td>\n3.90\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1978<\/td>\n4198.60\u2019<\/td>\n3.20\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1979<\/td>\n4198.40\u2019<\/td>\n3.00\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1980<\/td>\n4197.80\u2019<\/td>\n2.40\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1981<\/td>\n4198.60\u2019<\/td>\n3.20\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1982<\/td>\n4198.30\u2019<\/td>\n2.90\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1983<\/td>\n4200.75\u2019<\/td>\n5.35\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1984<\/td>\n4204.75\u2019<\/td>\n9.35\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1985<\/td>\n4209.00\u2019<\/td>\n13.60\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1986<\/td>\n4211.90\u2019<\/td>\n14.50\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1987<\/td>\n4211.15\u2019<\/td>\n15.75\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1988<\/td>\n4208.85\u2019<\/td>\n13.45\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1989<\/td>\n4206.10\u2019<\/td>\n10.70\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1990<\/td>\n4203.95\u2019<\/td>\n8.55\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1991<\/td>\n4201.60\u2019<\/td>\n6.20\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1992<\/td>\n4200.05\u2019<\/td>\n4.65\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1993<\/td>\n4197.92\u2019<\/td>\n2.52\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1994<\/td>\n4198.12\u2019<\/td>\n2.72\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1995<\/td>\n4197.76\u2019<\/td>\n2.36\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1996<\/td>\n4198.12\u2019<\/td>\n2.72\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1997<\/td>\n4198.39\u2019<\/td>\n2.99\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1998<\/td>\n4201.07\u2019<\/td>\n5.67\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1999<\/td>\n4202.05\u2019<\/td>\n7.35\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2000<\/td>\n4202.81\u2019<\/td>\n7.41\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2001<\/td>\n4200.94\u2019<\/td>\n5.54\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2002<\/td>\n4199.03\u2019<\/td>\n3.63\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2003<\/td>\n4197.22\u2019<\/td>\n1.82\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2004<\/td>\n4195.57\u2019<\/td>\n0.17\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2005<\/td>\n4195.15\u2019<\/td>\n-0.25\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2006<\/td>\n4196.55\u2019<\/td>\n1.15\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2007<\/td>\n4196.79\u2019<\/td>\n1.39\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2008<\/td>\n4195.20\u2019<\/td>\n-0.20\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2009<\/td>\n4194.33\u2019<\/td>\n-1.07\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2010<\/td>\n4194.30\u2019<\/td>\n-1.10\u2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
September, 2002<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
April, 2004<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
August, 2005<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
August, 2005<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
May, 2006<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
October, 2008<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
May, 2009<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
August, 2009<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/dt>\n
January 21, 2010. Photo by Karen Kelly<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Photos by Hikmet Sidney Loe Robert Smithson\u2019s first career choice was \u201cnaturalist.\u201d As he shifted his gaze towards art, his lifelong fascination with the materials of the earth and with the transformations that time manifests became incorporated into his work. The Spiral Jetty best embodies this synthesis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1515,"featured_media":40183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,14],"tags":[88,87],"class_list":["post-488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in_plain_site","category-visual_arts","tag-robert-smithson","tag-spiral-jetty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/spiral_jetty.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-06 09:25:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1515"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97379,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488\/revisions\/97379"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}