A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images. Petroglyphs, estimated to be 20,000 years old are classified as protected monuments and have been added to the tentative list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Petroglyphs are found worldwide, and are often associated with prehistoric peoples. The word comes from the Greek prefix petro-, from πέτρα petra meaning "stone", and γλύφω glýphō meaning "carve", and was originally coined in French as pétroglyphe.
Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area is a National Conservation Area (NCA) administered by the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It includes the Sloan Petroglyph Site which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 19, 1978. It is located south of Las Vegas, Nevada, access is available from Las Vegas Boulevard, near the Del Webb Anthem development in Henderson. Sloan Canyon NCA protects 48,438 acres (19,602 ha).
The Timbisha are a Native American tribe federally recognized as the Death Valley Timbisha Shoshone Band of California. They are known as the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe and are located in south central California, near the Nevada border. As of the 2010 Census the population of the Village was 124. The older members still speak the ancestral language, also called Timbisha.
The Newberry Mountains in Nevada are located east of Cal-Nev-Ari and the United States Coast Guard LORAN station in the southern part of the state. The range is Nevada's southernmost named mountain range, and lies to the northwest of the town of Laughlin and west of Lake Mohave. The Newberry Mountains connect with the Eldorado Mountains and The Highland Mountains. The highest point in the range is Spirit Mountain at 5,642 feet (1,720 m).
Sloan is an unincorporated community located in Clark County, Nevada, 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Las Vegas. The community has a population of 105 residents, as per the 2010 U.S. Census. Sloan is renowned for its canyon, petroglyphs, and the George W. Dunaway Army Reserve Center.
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is a United States national recreation area on the borders of the U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, the recreation area was established by Congress and signed by President Gerald Ford in late 1975 to protect the historic and archaeological values of the Hells Canyon area and the area of the Snake River between Hells Canyon Dam and the Oregon–Washington border.
The Crow Canyon Archaeological District is located in the heart of the Dinétah region of the American Southwest in Rio Arriba and San Juan counties in New Mexico approximately 30 miles southeast of the city of Farmington. This region, known to be the ancestral homeland of the Navajo people, contains the most extensive collection of Navajo and Ancient Pueblo petroglyphs or rock art in the United States. Etched into rock panels on the lower southwest walls of the canyon are petroglyphs or rock art depicting what is believed to be ceremonial scenes and symbolic images that represent the stories, traditions and beliefs of the Navajo people. Dating back to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the petroglyphs have maintained their integrity despite the environmental conditions of the canyon and the effects of tourism. Among the ruins in the Crow Canyon Archaeological District there is also a cluster of Navajo defensive structures or pueblitos, which were built in the 18th century during periods of conflict with the Utes and the beginnings of Spanish Colonialism.
Brownstone Canyon Archaeological District comprises 2,920 acres (1,180 ha) and is located in the La Madre Mountain Wilderness Area which covers 47,180 acres (19,090 ha) in southern Nevada. The area is administered by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management and includes many petroglyphs.
The mountains in the McCullough Range lie mostly above the city of Henderson in the U.S. state of Nevada. The range has two distinct areas with the northern portion being primarily volcanic in origin, while the southern part of the range is primarily composed of metamorphic rock.
Grapevine Canyon is located in the Bridge Canyon Wilderness Area and the Spirit Mountain Wilderness within Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The canyon contains the Grapevine Canyon Petroglyphs and is accessible from Nevada State Route 163 which leads to Lower Grapevine Canyon Road. During non-drought years, the canyon contains a fresh water spring. The spring provides water for shrubbery along its path.
Coso Rock Art District is a rock art site containing over 100,000 Petroglyphs by Paleo-Indians and/or Native Americans. The district is located near the towns of China Lake and Ridgecrest, California. Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons were declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964. In 2001, they were incorporated into this larger National Historic Landmark District. There are several other distinct canyons in the Coso Rock Art District besides the Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons. Also known as Little Petroglyph Canyon and Sand Tanks, Renegade Canyon is but one of several major canyons in the Coso Range, each hosting thousands of petroglyphs. The majority of the Coso Range images fall into one of six categories: bighorn sheep, entopic images, anthropomorphic or human-like figures, other animals, weapons & tools, and "medicine bag" images. Scholars have proposed a few potential interpretations of this rock art. The most prevalent of these interpretations is that they could have been used for rituals associated with hunting.
Weepah Spring Wilderness is a 51,480-acre (20,830 ha) wilderness area in Lincoln and Nye Counties, in the U.S. state of Nevada. The Wilderness lies approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of the town of Alamo and is administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Spirit Mountain Wilderness Area is a 33,518-acre (13,564 ha) wilderness area located in the Newberry Mountains in Clark County, Nevada, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Laughlin. Spirit Mountain lies within the area. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.
The Black Canyon Petroglyphs is an area of prehistoric petroglyphs in Lincoln County, Nevada that is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Located in the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, they are accessible to the public.
Grimes Point, in Churchill County, Nevada near Fallon, is a 720-acre (290 ha) archeological site that was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It was listed for its potential to yield future information.
The Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, formerly known as the Deer Valley Rock Art Center, is a 47-acre nature preserve featuring over 1500 Hohokam, Patayan, and Archaic petroglyphs visible on 500 basalt boulders in the Deer Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. In 1980, the US Army Corps of Engineers contracted Simon J. Bruder to conduct an archaeological investigation prior to the construction of the Adobe Dam at the Hedgpeth Hills. The petroglyphs are between 500 and 5,000 years old. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and it was also listed with the Phoenix Points of Pride. The preserve and museum are operated by the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences's School of Human Evolution and Social Change.
The Bridge Canyon Wilderness is a small wilderness area located in the Newberry Mountains in southern Nevada, United States, in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. It is also within Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. The rock outcrops and caves make this area very striking. Stands of cottonwood trees can be found along the Grapevine Wash and Sacatone Wash water courses. Canyon grape, cattails and rushes grow in Grapevine Canyon. Discover the petroglyphs of early Native Americans in the canyon. Reptiles include the Western chuckwalla, side-blotched lizard, and Gila monster.
The King's Canyon Petroglyphs are a prehistoric rock art site near Clarksville, Arkansas. The site includes a panel petroglyphs, which include depictions of a sunburst motif and what look like turkey tracks. The latter is a particularly uncommon subject for rock art in this area.
Gold Butte National Monument is a United States national monument located in Clark County, Nevada, northeast of Las Vegas and south of Mesquite and Bunkerville. The monument protects nearly 300,000 acres of desert landscapes featuring a wide array of natural and cultural resources, including rock art, sandstone towers, and important wildlife habitat for species including the Mojave Desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, and mountain lion. The area also protects historic ranching and mining sites such as the ghost town of Gold Butte, although little but mine openings, cement foundations, and a few pieces of rusting equipment remains. The monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
