BLANDING, Utah, Nov. 9, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Officials have shared a fond remembrance of the “Goblet of Venus” and its 1948 demise.
Under the headline, “UNSOLVED MYSTERY: the geovandalism of the Goblet of Venus,” the Utah office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management shared online the tale of the well-known landmark carved by nature over eons in San Juan County sandstone.
Eventually it came to be situated on the road from Blanding to Natural Bridges National Monument. Too close, as it turned out.
“So well known, it showed up in advertisements,” the BLM said, posting a photo of its appearance in a 1947 motor oil ad.
The agency’s homage included a black and white photo of a group of geology students from the University of Utah standing about the Goblet of Venus in the spring 1932.
In 1948, the formation was toppled, with The San Juan Record reporting July 1 of that year, “Ranger Redd found a heavy pole near the toppled rock, which was apparently used to push over the scenic formation.
“What Nature has spent ages in creating, man destroyed in a moment.”
With vandals unnamed immediately suspected, 76 years later who toppled the formation remains unknown, the BLM said.
“Some reports theorize it was local teenagers who pulled it over with a Jeep. A newspaper article from the 1970s says two Ogden teens claimed they tried to climb it and it fell.
“While the whodunnit remains an infamous legend, here’s facts: the Goblet of Venus is no more for current and future generations to enjoy.
“We can learn from history and do our best to recreate responsibly in Utah’s wild spaces.”
