Meadow Lake Petroglyphs, California

One of our adventures during our fall camping trip was a visit to the Meadow Lake petroglyphs in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains of California.

Getting there was half the fun.  After about 10 miles of dirt roads, we passed Meadow Lake and continued toward a large area of exposed granite.  Soon we found that the road was blocked by a fallen tree.  Bruce hooked on with a tow strap, broke it, and moved it aside.

Eventually we reached a large open area of granite boulders, with hundreds of petroglyphs on the horizontal surfaces.

The rock art at this site is described as Style 7, High Sierra Abstract-Representational petroglyphs identified with the Martis culture dating from 2000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.  We can guess at their meaning, but no one knows for sure.

The petroglyphs here show up best on areas of dark desert varnish, but careful inspection reveals many on the lighter colored rock as well.  The light scratches around the edge are glacial striations caused by rocks embedded in the base of moving glaciers.

The area is rocky and rugged.  Not many trees grow in this granite, and there are quite a few dead snags and fallen trees.  Their wood often has beautifully weathered patterns.

Why are there so many petroglyphs here?  Perhaps this nearby pond is a clue.  Maybe there was a larger wetland here many years ago, providing a water source for game animals.

 Or maybe it was a good place to camp with drinking water nearby.

  We don’t know the meaning of this rock art, but it sure is fun to find it and take pictures.

These photos are copyrighted, so please do not copy them or use them without my permission.

Nine Mile Canyon Rock Art, Utah

Nine Mile Canyon is actually about 40 miles long, and was probably named after a nine mile transect used by a cartographer on the John Wesley Powell expedition of 1869.  It has been called the longest art gallery in the world, thanks to the thousands of petroglyphs and pictographs along the canyon walls.

I visited the site with Bruce Gregory and Stephen Johnson during our 33^rd consecutive year of camping.

Petroglyphs in the Daddy Canyon Complex

The rock art was created by Fremont people as far back as 950 AD, and by the Utes starting in the 16^th century.

Many of the images have unclear meanings, such as this anthropomorph with curving feet and mysterious circles.

The rock art of Nine Mile Canyon has been endangered by industrial truck traffic from oil and gas exploration over the last several years.  The rock art was coated by dust from the dirt road through the canyon, which has been paved recently to reduce the damage.

Archer and bighorn sheep petroglyph coated by dust.

Rasmussen Cave is a wonderful location with beautiful pictographs of elk, sheep, and other animals, as well as many petroglyphs, but it has been badly vandalized.

Probably the most famous rock art group in the area is the famous Great Hunt petroglyph panel.  It is located in a spur called Cottonwood Canyon, and the dirt road used to pass by just a few feet away, causing a lot of dust damage.  The road was re-routed away from the panel and paved, so now the hunting scene is accessed by a beautiful paved path.

There is a lot more to see in Nine Mile Canyon, including a ghost town, historic ranches, Fremont ruins, and beautiful canyon scenery.  Please visit my Flickr page to see more rock art and many of the other attractions.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ross_v_walker/sets/72157645395554154/

Utah Rock Art

Linda and I explored southeastern Utah last month, including eleven sites with Native American petroglyphs and pictographs. Here are a few of the hundreds of photos I took.

Petroglyphs are chipped in the rock, as seen in the images above:

Top - Rattlesnake attack on a large boulder near Moab.
Center left - Kokopelli at Shay Canyon.
Center right - More recent images at Newspaper Rock.
Bottom left - Birthing scene on the same boulder as # 1.
Bottom right - Anthropomorphs at Capitol Reef National Park.


The images on the left are pictographs, which  are painted on the rocks, and since paint is likely to be washed away over the centuries, they are much rarer than petroglyphs.


Top - Sego Canyon, Barrier Canyon style anthropomorphs.
Center - Sego Canyon, more recent Ute style
Bottom - Buckhorn Wash, Barrier Canyon style


Rock art should never be touched.  The oil on our hands will degrade them in time.  Vandalism is a terrible problem, and there are big penalties for anyone caught defacing ancient rock art.  For that reason, many sites are not publicized.


Linda and I have posted more rock art photos and information from this trip on our web site.


http://www.hisandhersphoto.com/Heritage/hhrockartut.htm     -  last three images
http://www.hisandhersphoto.com/Heritage/hhrockartut2.htm   -  first twelve images

Coso Petroglyphs

I am on my 31st annual camping trip with Bruce Gregory and Stephen Johnson.  The highlight of the trip was a visit to the Coso Petroglyphs, which might be the highest concentration of rock art in the western hemisphere.

This is an extremely unusual petroglyph, apparently showing a confrontation between archers.  The extra toes might be because this was a depiction of an hallucination.

The petroglyphs are located on China Lake Naval Weapons Station near Ridgecrest, California.  The area is NOT open to the general public.

This beautiful panel includes a lot of bighorn sheep, which is the most common object here.  Most images were probably made in the last 2000 years, but some may be as old as 6000 years.

Tours are arranged through the wonderful Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, California.  If you want to go, check their web site and sign up the first day the tours are announced, or you probably won't get in.

These petroglyphs are on a rock that shows the terrain inside the canyon. The hike is fairly strenuous and includes climbing down two dry waterfalls, very uneven footing, and some deep sand.  Good hiking boots are required.

Human figures (anthropomorphs) are common and spectacular.


Anyone who signs up to see these petroglyphs must have proof of US citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport.  Everyone will be given a background check before being allowed to enter China Lake Naval Weapons Station.  All cars will be searched thoroughly.  Security will give everyone a half-hour lecture while you are waiting for the security check to be completed.  Cameras and binoculars will not be allowed to be accessible until the petroglyph site is reached.  Museum docents will accompany the group at all times, and they are an excellent source of information.


I recommend a polarizing filter to bring out the images.  The petroglyphs on the right side of the canyon will be visible on the way in, and some on the left side will emerge from the shadows as you walk out.

The petroglyphs here are really special, and the experience is an adventure if you can get in at all.

Legend Rock Petroglyphs, Wyoming

The Legend Rock State Archaeological Site is 30 miles northwest of Thermopolis, Wyoming.  Sometimes an on-site caretaker will let you in, but normally you need to get a key to unlock the gate.  We got ours at the State bath house at the Thermopolis hot springs.

Petroglyphs are pictures pecked or scratched in rock.  The Legend Rock site has an easy trail leading to several panels of pictures.  One of my favorites was this Thunderbird in one of the first panels.




Petroglyphs at Legend Rock range from about 200 to 11,000 years old.  These animals are among the oldest at the site, so they are not as distinct as newer ones.

Notice the two styles.  The animals on the left are outlined and the ones on the right have their bodies filled in, which is known as "en toto".





Animal figures, like the ones above, are known as zoomorphs.  Human-like figures, such as those to the right are anthropomorphs.  These fantastic figures have horned headdresses and unrealistic bodies.









What is the meaning of something like this?  Anthropomorphs are intertwined into one complicated figure with hands in strange places.

A panel under this figure was removed by vandals.  This is a common problem at rock art sites so we were glad for the extra security at Legend Rock.

This amazing figure has extra feet, arms in the wrong place, and is missing much of his face.  I think his strange personality jumps at you from the rock.  Notice the writing in the upper right.  When it gets this old, it can be referred to as "historic graffiti" and may even be considered to have historical value.
You can see more rock art at our web site: http://www.hisandhersphoto.com/Heritage/hhheritage.htm