Visitors to mysterious Utah Obelisk left human waste behind and marked the land

As mysteriously as it came, Utah’s world-famous obelisk illegally installed in a San Juan County redrock slot canyon disappeared Friday night, the Bureau of Land Management confirmed. Photos show whoever removed the sculpture left only a triangular hole and a piece of metal – but the many visitors who flocked to the remote site over Thanksgiving week also left traces of their trips.

On Sunday, the BLM said in a press release that people “parked on vegetation and left human waste” when they visit the undeveloped site, which is not equipped with a parking lot or toilets. designated. Photos the agency tweeted on Sunday show where the shiny steel pillar once stood, as well as a group of vehicles parked on a sagebrush dirt road, the red landscape marked by crisscrossing tire tracks, and what could be a piece of toilet paper sticking out of the floor.

Driving off the roads and trails designated in the local Monticello office is illegal, the BLM also said.

BLM officials recommended on Sunday that people do not attempt to visit the former site of the obelisk, also known as the “monolith,” saying the canyon lacks the services it needs to support the crowds.

“We recognize the incredible interest the ‘monolith’ has generated around the world. A lot of people have enjoyed the mystery and see it as a welcome distraction from the 2020 news cycle, ”Amber Denton Johnson, Monticello field manager, said in the statement. “Even so, it was installed without permission on public land and the site is in a remote area with no services for the large number of people who now want to see it. Whenever you visit public lands, please follow the Leave No Trace principles and federal and local laws and guidelines.

The obelisk has been there since at least 2016, according to Google satellite images. And so far, no one has claimed to be its creator or claimed to have deleted it.