The discovery of a mysterious “monolith” planted upright in southeast Utah’s canyon country has gone viral on the internet, raising concerns that hordes of people will flock to the remote site on public land in San Juan County.

It is unknown who put the object in the desert, but it is clear this artistic gesture was inspired by the late filmmaker Stanley Kubrick.

The 10-foot high shiny metal prism was first observed Nov. 18 by state wildlife officials counting bighorn sheep in Lockhart Basin from a helicopter piloted by the Utah Department of Public Safety, or DPS.

After observing the metal prism from the air, the pilot landed the helicopter so the crew could get a closer look. Their photographs and video were posted on the DPS’ news web page, triggering a cascade of media attention and an investigation by the Bureau of Land Management.

“This thing is not from another world,” Lt. Nick Street of the Utah Highway Patrol, part of the Department of Public Safety, told the Associated Press.

The object appears straight out of an iconic scene in the opening of Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In the scene known as “Dawn of Man,” which was shot in Utah in 1968, a group of apelike pre-humans wake up to discover a black rectilinear monolith standing in the rugged desert landscape. They gather around and worship the object.

In an apparent homage to Kubrick, who died in 1999, the new monolith stands perfectly plumb in a redrock alcove in front of a crack in the rock, complete with everything from the famous film but the excited primates.

The BLM fears that the explosion of attention the object is receiving will spur a parade of curiosity seekers who may damage the surrounding resources or endanger themselves, according to spokeswoman Rachel Wootton.

Erecting a permanent fixture on BLM land without authority is illegal and it is likely the agency will remove it.

“It’s under investigation,” Wootton said. “We will have to decide what happens next.”

Located on lands that President Donald Trump removed from Bears Ears National Monument three years ago, the object can be seen on Google Earth, from a satellite image recorded in October 2016. That indicates the monolith may have been standing there in silent anonymity at least the past four years.

Tribune reporter Zak Podmore contributed to this story.

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