Tag Archives: Shoshone petroglyphs

“Desolation of Disappointment” Petroglyphs

Early Autumn can be pretty toasty in California’s desert regions, and last September saw us head out to a petroglyph site while wishing the weather was maybe 15 to 20 degrees cooler. On top of that, we weren’t sure if what we would find would be worth it! We’d read some site descriptions from other visitors, and while those descriptions stressed the sheer quantity of petroglyphs, they also mentioned disquieting phrases like “poorly pecked” and “indistinct”. Still, we wouldn’t know what was there until we went to look, would we?

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“Curious Crack” Petroglyphs

The Volcanic Tablelands north of Bishop is one of those places you either know and love or have no idea exists.

For rock climbers and desert wanderers it is an exciting spot, offering many problems to work and remote places to explore, respectively.

For everyone else it is dreadfully dull, something to be zipped by ( going downhill ) or crept past ( going uphill ) as you navigate the steep Sherwin Grade on the nearby US 395.

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“Shields Up” Petroglyphs

In many ways the shield design is the defining element found in the Great Basin. Rectilinear elements are also really common – not to mention the famous Coso bighorn sheep representations further south – but the shield design pops up at sites all over the region.

This particular site consists of almost nothing but shield designs. The main site consists of eleven well-defined shields on a large upright boulder with a smooth, level north face, and some less well-executed elements lower on the same rock face.

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“Bad Moons Rising” Petroglyphs

Early one morning I was out hunting specifically for this site. I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be too hard to actually see if I could just find myself in the general vicinity of it, since the photographs I’d seen made it appear large enough to be visible from some distance away.

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“Pot Shot” Petroglyphs

This petroglyph site is a rarity for the area it is found in, which predominantly contain pictographs. The pictographs in the area were made by the Tübatulabal, who first came into the area about 12 centuries ago.  This petroglyph site is likely older than the first Tübatulabal migrations into the area.

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Featured image for Chidago Canyon.

Chidago Canyon Petroglyphs

This famous site is one of the better known and oldest sites in the Volcanic Tablelands area. These petroglyphs are believed to date back at least 3,500 years, and some of them could date back around 8,000 years, when the area was first settled.

Today it is partially fenced to deter vandals, and this is unfortunately needed, given the vandalism the site has suffered over the years: shotgun damage as well as graffiti.

Fortunately, most of the petroglyphs survive intact and the site is still well worth a visit. Continue reading