A mysterious rising structure has been discovered in a rural desert area in the western American state of Nevada.
The tall, pillar-shaped object is being described as a monolith. Images suggest it is made of metallic material and its surface is reflective.
The object recently drew attention when the Las Vegas police department published a photo and message about the structure on the social media service X. It read: “We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water...but check this out!”
Officers recently saw the monolith while carrying out a search and rescue operation. The area is about one hour north of Las Vegas. It is popular with hikers.
The area is part of Nevada’s large Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Bighorn sheep and desert tortoises can be found there. The monolith was put in an area with mountain peaks up to 2,100 meters high.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press (AP) that its members were trying to learn more about the monolith.
Images included with the X message showed the structure standing tall against a bright blue sky, with distant views of the Las Vegas valley. Many observers noted on social media the monolith looked like an object that appeared in Stanley Kubrick’s famous science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The mysterious structure is the latest object to appear in recent years in different places around the U.S. and Europe. The first one to receive wide media attention was discovered in the Utah desert in late 2020. Others have been discovered in California and in the nations of Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Britain.
All the structures disappeared about as quickly as they appeared. Placing the objects is a violation of a U.S. law that protects federal lands.
The monolith found in Utah in 2020 stood about 3.6 meters tall, the AP reported. It was placed in rock in an area so remote that local officials decided not to immediately inform the public. The officials feared people would get lost trying to find it.
But many people were successful in finding it. Fish and Wildlife officials said that during the search, visitors to the area flattened plants with vehicles and left behind human waste. Two men known for doing extreme sports in Utah later said that kind of damage persuaded them to go to the area late at night and tear the structure down and remove it.
This time, officials at the Fish and Wildlife Service are worried about similar harms from visitors. Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge outside of Alaska.
Christa Weise oversees refuge operations. She said, “People might come looking for it and be coming with inappropriate vehicles or driving where they shouldn't, trampling plants."
The Nevada monolith has produced many different opinions by people on social media. One X user, publishing under the name @NWK1WAYS, simply declared: "Clearly Aliens!"
Another user, @cdharris19, expressed disbelief that the mysterious placers had struck again. "Are we really gonna do this whole thing again?" the user asked. "Just remove the trash, find who dumped it, and fine them."
I’m Bryan Lynn.
The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
pillar – n. a tall structure made out of stone, wood, etc. that usually supports something above it
monolith – n. a structure, usually made of stone, that was put in position by people as a monument or for religious reasons
reflect – v. to throw off heat, light, sound, etc. from a surface
weird – adj. unusual or strange
hike – v. a long walk, often taken in the countryside
science fiction – n. stories about life in the future or in other parts of the universe
remote – adj. extremely far away or very isolated
refuge – n. a place designated to protect people or animals from outside harms
inappropriate – adj. not suitable
trample – v. to walk on something, usually damaging or hurting it
dump– v. to put something somewhere to get rid of it, especially in a place where you should not put it
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