Las Vegas police said members of a volunteer search and rescue unit encountered the mirrored object near Gass Peak in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada.

Officers have no idea where the monolith came from and have said they expect social media users will try to solve the mystery.

Sharing an image of the discovery on the X social media platform, Las Vegas police said: “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! Over the weekend, (LV Search and Rescue) spotted this mysterious monolith near Gass Peak north of the valley.”

The sighting follows a series of instances of mysterious shiny columns popping up around the world since at least 2020.

In November of that year, a roughly 12ft metal monolith similar to the one seen in Las Vegas was discovered deep in the desert in Utah.

It was in an area so remote that officials didn’t immediately reveal its location for fear of people getting lost or stranded while trying to find it.

It was followed by sightings in Romania, central California and on the famed Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

In March this year, a 10ft monolith appeared on a hillside in southeast Wales.