« Posts tagged petroglyphs

Una Vida Petroglyphs

Una Vida Petroglyphs

Shortly after arriving in Chaco Canyon last month, we hiked up to the Una Vida Great House near the visitor’s center. Una Vida is in a near-natural state of preservation with no major vandalism, and with only minor excavations and preservation repairs. Time and the forces of nature have collapsed the roofs. Walls have fallen. Centuries of blowing sand have covered the rooms with a protective blanket of sand.

A short walk up the slope behind Una Vida will take you to a few petroglyph panels. This is one of the better panels that we found in the park. I actually ended up returning to the panel later in the evening so that I could photograph this site bathed in the warmer late evening sunlight.

>> Long Weekend in Chaco Canyon

McKee Springs Petroglyphs

McKee Springs Petroglyphs

Of all of the many awe-inspiring petroglyph panels located near McKee Springs in Dinosaur National Monument, I would have to say that this one is probably my favorite. Heck, it’s one of my favorite petroglyph panels in all of Utah! I’ve put it on my calendar to get back to Dinosaur this fall to get some new photos of this site, plus to visit a few new sites as well. I’m looking forward to it!

>> Rainbow Park & Island Park

The Owl

The Owl

Rock Art depicting owls doesn’t seem to be very common, but the few pictographs and petroglyphs of owls that I have come across so far seem to really stand apart from the rest. This amazingly preserved petroglyph of an owl is carved high above the canyon floor near the Colorado River and Moab. It’s hard to see from below without the use of binoculars. It’s a steep loose climb to reach this panel, which contains many more petroglyphs than just this owl, but it’s well worth the climb so you can sit back and view this great site.

>> Some more Moab Rock Art

Big Man Alcove

Big Man Alcove

The Big Man Panel in Grand Gulch is a large pictograph and petroglyph panel located in a very large alcove about 200 feet above the canyon floor. It’s not visible from the bottom, so you need to climb up to it if you want to see it. The focal point of this panel are the two life-sized anthropomorphic figures painted in red that seem to represent a man and woman This photo shows a wide view of the alcove and the pictographs painted within. In the future I will post up some closer photos of these figures for a better look at them. This is an amazing panel to view, and it’s easily seen on a day hike into Grand Gulch.

>> Big Man Panel & Lower Comb Wash

Broken-Hearted Man

Broken-Hearted Man

Yesterday I headed back to the San Rafael Swell in search of some more rock art. The upper ninety degree temperatures didn’t keep me away, but the high temperatures certainly made me keep my hikes short. Luckily the humid weather seems to have finally left the area and it was nice and dry out. Though, the gnats and mosquitoes seemed to be out in full force during this short hike in the morning. My first stop of the day brought me to the Broken-Hearted Man petroglyph. This square anthropomorph has the weeping eye motif normally associated with petroglyphs up around the Uinta Basin which is not very common in the Swell.

The name of this particular petroglyph seems to stem from a story of a nearby burial that was found containing a woman and child (possibly both lost during childbirth). It is thought that this petroglyph may have been carved by the father of the child. It’s an interesting story, but I wonder if the Fremont held the same concept of a ‘broken heart’ that we do? Either way, it’s definitely a cool petroglyph.

>> A Hot Day in the Swell Searching for Rock Art