Metaphor: The Tree of Utah, sometimes called the Tree of Life, is an 87 feet (26.5 m) sculpture that was created by the Swedish artist Karl Momen

Karl Momen

Karl Momen is a Swedish architect, painter and sculptor. He was born in 1934 in the city of Mashad, Iran.-Works:Momen is the creator of the Metaphor: The Tree of Utah, an sculpture resembling a tree in the Bonneville Salt Flats off of Interstate 80. Apparently, while driving along the highway to...

 in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. It is located in the desolate Great Salt Lake Desert

Great Salt Lake Desert

The Great Salt Lake Desert is a large dry lake in northern Utah between the Great Salt Lake and the Nevada border which is noted for white sand from evaporite Lake Bonneville salt deposits...

 of Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 on the north side of Interstate 80 about 25 miles east of Wendover

Wendover, Utah

Wendover is a city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,537 at the 2000 census, with a 2006 estimated population of 1,632....

. The sculpture, which is constructed mainly of concrete, consists of a squarish 'trunk' holding up six spheres that are coated with natural rock and minerals native to Utah. There are also several hollow sphere segments on the ground around the base.

Inscribed on the plaque are the words from Ode to Joy

Ode to Joy

"Ode to Joy" is an ode written in 1785 by the German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller, enthusiastically celebrating the brotherhood and unity of all mankind...

by Friedrich Schiller

Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...

; also used as the chorus of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony

Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...

. It has been said that Momen was moved to create the 87 feet (26.5 m) tree after having a vision of a tree while driving across the desolate Bonneville Salt Flats.

External links

• Metaphor: The Tree of Utah by Utah Travel Council
• Metaphor: The Tree of Utah by Roadside America
• Utah Pictures - Bonneville Salt Flats by Utah Pictures.com