Surprisingly, just off the I-15 freeway northeast of Baker in the Mojave Desert of California are four or five groups of rock art scattered across small basalt hills and along a sandy wash. The main site is right next to the freeway. And when I say right next to the freeway, I mean right next to it. Some of the petroglyphs are even inside of Caltrans right-of-way.
Thousands of people drive by the site every day and don't know about it. And to those of you who immediately say, "Oh, I've seen those." Did you see the smaller sites in the wash? Did you see the pictographs on the cliff?
False color images of the pictographs
Most of the petroglyphs here are of an abstract design, and this place was a stopping point for ancient travelers along a trail. The site is close to an old mine where Ancestral Puebloans dug for turquoise over 1,000 years ago. More recently, Ancestral Mojave and Chemehuevi passed through here.
The nearby Halloran Spring is not more than a seep today, but in prehistoric times, it must have been a vital water source for those traveling through his arid patch of desert.
Petroglyphs and graffiti
You will have to do some scouting to find all the petroglyphs and pictographs here. But my photos will help. As always, please respect this site. And also, the Halloran Arrastra is right around the corner and worth a visit.
See also:
Guy Starbuck
