Mysterious Structure Discovered in Nevada Desert
2024-06-25
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1A mysterious rising structure has been discovered in a rural desert area in the western American state of Nevada.
2The tall, pillar-shaped object is being described as a monolith.
3Images suggest it is made of metallic material and its surface is reflective.
4The object recently drew attention when the Las Vegas police department published a photo and message about the structure on the social media service X.
5It 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!"
6Officers recently saw the monolith while carrying out a search and rescue operation.
7The area is about one hour north of Las Vegas. It is popular with hikers.
8The area is part of Nevada's large Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
9Bighorn sheep and desert tortoises can be found there.
10The monolith was put in an area with mountain peaks up to 2,100 meters high.
11The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press (AP) that its members were trying to learn more about the monolith.
12Images included with the X message showed the structure standing tall against a bright blue sky, with distant views of the Las Vegas valley.
13Many 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.
14The mysterious structure is the latest object to appear in recent years in different places around the U.S. and Europe.
15The first one to receive wide media attention was discovered in the Utah desert in late 2020.
16Others have been discovered in California and in the nations of Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Britain.
17All the structures disappeared about as quickly as they appeared.
18Placing the objects is a violation of a U.S. law that protects federal lands.
19The monolith found in Utah in 2020 stood about 3.6 meters tall, the AP reported.
20It was placed in rock in an area so remote that local officials decided not to immediately inform the public.
21The officials feared people would get lost trying to find it.
22But many people were successful in finding it.
23Fish and Wildlife officials said that during the search, visitors to the area flattened plants with vehicles and left behind human waste.
24Two 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.
25This time, officials at the Fish and Wildlife Service are worried about similar harms from visitors.
26Nevada's Desert National Wildlife Refuge is the largest wildlife refuge outside of Alaska.
27Christa Weise oversees refuge operations.
28She said, "People might come looking for it and be coming with inappropriate vehicles or driving where they shouldn't, trampling plants."
29The Nevada monolith has produced many different opinions by people on social media.
30One X user, publishing under the name @NWK1WAYS, simply declared: "Clearly Aliens!"
31Another user, @cdharris19, expressed disbelief that the mysterious placers had struck again.
32"Are we really gonna do this whole thing again?" the user asked.
33"Just remove the trash, find who dumped it, and fine them."
34I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A mysterious rising structure has been discovered in a rural desert area in the western American state of Nevada. 2The tall, pillar-shaped object is being described as a monolith. Images suggest it is made of metallic material and its surface is reflective. 3The 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!" 4Officers 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. 5The 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. 6The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told The Associated Press (AP) that its members were trying to learn more about the monolith. 7Images 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. 8The 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. 9All the structures disappeared about as quickly as they appeared. Placing the objects is a violation of a U.S. law that protects federal lands. 10The 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. 11But 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. 12This 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. 13Christa 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." 14The Nevada monolith has produced many different opinions by people on social media. One X user, publishing under the name @NWK1WAYS, simply declared: "Clearly Aliens!" 15Another 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." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 18___________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20pillar - n. a tall structure made out of stone, wood, etc. that usually supports something above it 21monolith - n. a structure, usually made of stone, that was put in position by people as a monument or for religious reasons 22reflect - v. to throw off heat, light, sound, etc. from a surface 23weird - adj. unusual or strange 24hike - v. a long walk, often taken in the countryside 25science fiction - n. stories about life in the future or in other parts of the universe 26remote - adj. extremely far away or very isolated 27refuge - n. a place designated to protect people or animals from outside harms 28inappropriate - adj. not suitable 29trample - v. to walk on something, usually damaging or hurting it 30dump- v. to put something somewhere to get rid of it, especially in a place where you should not put it