Oil and Water: An odd find in Utah
Each trip, we seem to come across an unexpected discovery. You can file this under that category.
We were driving to a remote part of the Great Salt Lake to see the art installation known as the Spiral Jetty. It’s on the northeastern-most part of the lake, surrounded by ranchland.
The water level is down dramatically, exposing what appeared to be an old wooden boat dock, at least from the road in the distance. The colors of the aging wood, set against the sky and mountains made for beautiful photos on the overcast day.
As we walked across the dried-out former lake bed, we realized: this wasn’t a boat dock. We could smell tar or something, and when we got closer we saw slicks of dried-up oil.
It turns out: we were at an abandoned oil drilling site… NOT a boat dock.
The area is known as Rozel Point, and it’s about a two hour drive from Salt Lake City.
History of Oil Drilling
Oil exploration began here 100 years ago, in the 1920s, and continued until the 1970s. The oil company abandoned its drilling lease when prices dropped.
As recently as 2008, a Canadian oil company tried to begin drilling within a few miles of the site. The price of crude went up, and the plan was to float a couple of drilling barges out in the lake to pump crude.
Groups of conservationists protested, citing environmental concerns.
The art community protested, saying drilling rigs or barges, even if they were a few miles away, would ruin the aesthetic of the Spiral Jetty.
The “oil seeps” are still visible, but there’s no sign of a drilling barge from this site these days.
Cleanup Effort
Currently, you’ll find just the Jetty, along with wooden pilings left from the original drilling platform. Decades after the drilling operation ceased, the site remained a total dump, full of rusted out old equipment.
Utah’s Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining cleaned up the trash in 2005, hauling off dumpster loads of debris.
The Utah Geological Survey has incredible photos of the cleanup process, which include a picture of a piece of heavy equipment sinking into the mud.
Nothing lives in the water in the area, aside from algae and microorganisms. It’s too dense with salt and minerals. An algae that thrives in this harsh aquatic environment gives the water near the shore its pink hue for much of the year.
Still, the tar that makes its way to the surface presents a natural and deadly hazard for other wildlife. They get stuck. We saw what appeared to be a pelican carcass, along with other bird bones.
Getting There
You’ll catch whiffs of the crude seeps as you drive along the shoreline. While the odor isn’t a draw, the natural beauty of the area, plus the man-made beauty of the Jetty, make it well worth the drive.
From Salt Lake, head north on the I-15 toward Brigham City. Head west on Highway 13, which turns into 83 in the town of Corinne.
Stop at one of the gas stations to load up on snacks, etc, because there are no services of any kind for most of the drive.
On Highway 83, you’ll pass the Golden Spike National Historic Park, which marks the completion of the first transcontinental railroad.
From there, follow Google Maps toward the “Spiral Jetty” parking lot. You’ll drive through miles of ranch land, on impressively-groomed dirt roads. A few hundred yards south of the Jetty lot, you’ll be able to park to walk out to explore the old drilling site.
