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Anza Borrego and Chuckwalla Deserts

Anza Borrego country and the Proposed Chuckwalla National Monument of California

11 posts

Canebrake Skeleton Pictographs

Canebrake Skeleton Pictographs

Hidden in a granite rock shelter near an ancient Kumeyaay village site is a unique set of pictographs. Most of these pictographs are typical of the La Rumorosa Style, but what is unusual here are the skeleton figures. I have not seen them anywhere else in the Kumeyaay territory. Some

Palen Tank Petroglyphs

Palen Tank Petroglyphs

I recently followed an ancient Native American trail out to a water tank and petroglyph site. What got my attention to this site was the report of historical inscriptions and the fact that it is way off of other Native American trails I knew about. The petroglyphs themselves are unusual

Blue Sun Pictograph Cave

Blue Sun Pictograph Cave

My friend Don Austin coined the name "Blue Sun Cave." The Kumeyaay people once lived here. And even though there is no water nearby, the shelters created by the massive granite boulders provided a welcome home in this harsh desert. The pictographs are considered to be the La

Spoked Wheel Geoglyph

Spoked Wheel Geoglyph

At the end of a long day exploring pictographs around the badlands of Anza Borrego, we made one last stop – the Spoked Wheel Geoglyph. This ceremonial site is a twenty-foot diameter rock alignment consisting of two circles with spokes connecting them. A native trail runs nearby. The spirit of the

Piedras Grandes Pictographs

Piedras Grandes Pictographs

Back in 2015, we went out to the Piedras Grandes pictograph site. Piedras Grandes means "Large stones," and these granite boulders out in the southern part of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park certainly are that. The site is inside the Piedras Grandes Cultural Preserve, and it is a short

Land of Zion Wash Petroglyphs

Land of Zion Wash Petroglyphs

This petroglyph site is a small one in the Sonoran desert. It is a dry and harsh area. Scattered among the heavily varnished boulders are a few Desert Abstract petroglyphs. I also found what appeared to be rock circles. Maybe this was a small village? This site is also known

Cary Ranch Pictographs

Cary Ranch Pictographs

Back in 2013, I was invited by Dick Cary to visit his historic Cary Ranch and examine some of the pictographs there. The Mountain Cahuilla Indians first inhabited the ranch area. The site is near a natural pass and an old Indian trail that connects inland Southern California shrublands to