DESERET, Millard County — On a remote hillside in Utah's Sevier Desert, about 17 miles southwest of Delta, rises a craggy volcanic outcrop. For generations, area residents and visitors have been attracted to the formation because in it they can discern the outlines of a man's features: head, brow, nose, mouth and even perhaps a high collar.
Today they call it the Great Stone Face, or the Guardian of Deseret, because from a certain angle, notes the book "A History of Millard County," a 1999 entry in the Utah Centennial County History Series, "some see a resemblance to LDS Church founder Joseph Smith."
A side trip to the natural monument "is well worth the time, especially if you are a Mormon or if you like Mount Rushmore," advises Millard County's tourist guide.
The county's official Internet site www.millardcounty.comalso has a photograph of the Great Stone Face, alongside an 1830s painting of Joseph Smith that helps cement the connection between the two images. Delta's Web site www.deltautah.com states that at the " 'Keeper of the Desert,' as referred to by locals, black lava rock has eroded over the centuries into what many people believe to be a striking resemblance of a human face — thought by some to have an uncanny resemblance to the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith."
Although the formation has been getting a good deal of publicity, the exact number of visitors isn't known. The site is accessible by a good 5.5-mile gravel road — passable by cars — but Glen Swalberg, Millard County's director of tourism, believes the number of sightseers has been steadily increasing, along with the growing number of tourists to the Delta area. Some day, he said, he'd like to see the road paved, as well as access made to the nearby Gunnison Massacre historical site.
"It's a famous little landmark," he said.
One of the area's earliest histories, "100 Years of History in Millard County," published by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers in 1941, says the formation was first recognized in 1926 when LDS Bishop Joseph Damson of Deseret and Frank Beckwith, publisher of the Millard County Chronicle, spotted it from the desert floor and instantly saw a resemblance to paintings of Joseph Smith.
The stone face sits some 100 feet above the Sevier Desert floor amid a field of lava rock and sagebrush, with a view to Notch Peak to the west. A somewhat steep, 200-yard-long trek takes hikers to the base of the monument over loose rock. A rugged path, outlined by lava rocks, marks the way.
The profile image, about 32 feet high, faces south. The best view is from a hillside some 50 feet below the formation.
The Great Stone Face is not visible close up or from the south or the east. The best view is from the west.
Ironically, the lava rock area was once called "The Devil's Kitchen," and even today many local residents think the Great Stone Face has a bit of a split personality. When viewed from its east side, the formation is referred to as "The Devil's Chimney."
The north side of the rock formation is deeply pitted rocks and creates natural nests for birds. Indian petroglyphs dating back about 1,000 years are found in the general area.
Does the rock formation resemble Joseph Smith? You'll have to decide.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com