Located in the Indian Creek Unit of Bears Ears National Monument is Newspaper Rock National Historic Site. It was a 26-mile drive from the RV park where we were staying in Monticello, NM, and can be accessed from Indian Creek Scenic Highway. On the National Register of Historic Places, this panel has 650+ petroglyphs etched into a part of vertical Wingate Sandstone of upper Indian Canyon Creek.
A blackish manganese/iron deposit, called desert varnish, forms on the exposed sandstone cliff faces here. By pecking the rock (etching), the lighter colored sandstone underneath is exposed thus preserving the image. It is one of the largest known collection of petroglyphs. The first carvings were made 2,000 years ago. Ancestral Puebloans created the images from BC times to AD 1300. Ute, Navajo, and European Americans have added more since. And, sadly, there is some grafitti from the 1900s.
When you look more closely, you will see human figures, symbols, animals, animal pelts, paw prints, horses with riders, and abstract forms. It was fun to search for images and try to interpret their meaning. A lovely couple we met snapped a photo of us in front of the panel.
These six-toed feet are interesting, and similar ones have been found in Chaco Culture. Research has found that about 3.1% of the skeletons (94) found in Pueblo Bonito were polydactyl (had 6 toes or fingers). In the general Native American population, the norm is .2%. And the polydactyl skeletons appeared to have been revered with ceremonial burials.
There is a perennial natural spring near the petroglyph panel. Some believe this was a communication station for travelers, but the exact meaning of the symbols will remain a mystery.
Here is a view of the rock formations on the opposite side of the road.
After visiting Newspaper Rock, we decided to continue on the scenic highway to Canyonlands National Park. We stopped a couple of times along the way to admire the landscape.
Seeing a pond in this arid climate is always a treat.
This is a beautiful drive!
For more info on Newspaper Rock, go to www.utahscanyoncountry.com; or, for more info on the scenic byway, go to www.visitutah.com/articles/touring-the-indian-creek-corridor-scenic-byway/.
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