Summary:

Years ago, I found a diamond-shaped crystal in the parking area at Spiral Jetty and thought it was simply lucky find, relative to the small scrappy chunks I was finding nearby.

It wasn’t until I found out how this place actually worked.

The strange crystal was gypsum, and it’s referred to as a “Utah Dirty Diamond”. It turns out, if you dig in the dry lake bed, you’ll find tons of them with enough hard work. And they get WAY bigger than the small one I found.

I created this website in part because of this location, as I really wished I had gotten a proper rundown of this place before being out there!

Interestingly there is also some oil that is visible in the area, and it’s known as Rozel Point. Reading on its history suggests that oil is certainly found here but difficult to extract, and operations ended in the 1980s. A neat historical relic as visible surface oil isn’t something seen too often.

Note: Please backfill holes here if you plan on digging. Do not dig in the Spiral Jetty itself. You will see an area with many holes dug in the salt flat when you arrive.

Update: Check for new signage that digging is still allowed when you visit, as there have been talks of it shutting down due to holes not being filled. (January 2026)