Rock Art

Santa Fe river GorgeThree Rivers Petroglyph SiteLa CienegaLa CieneguillaThree Rivers Petroglyph SiteCrow CanyonPetroglyph National MonumentPetroglyph National monumentPetroglyph National MonumentLa CienegaGalisteo BasinGalisteo BasinGalisteo BasinPetroglyph National MonumentGalisteo BasinThree Rivers Petroglyph SiteThree Rivers Petroglyph SitePetroglyph National MonumentLa CieneguillaThree Rivers Petroglyph SiteThree Rivers Petroglyph SiteTsankawiThree Rivers Petroglyph SiteThree Rivers Petroglyph SiteGalisteo BasinHorseshoe Canyon Pictographs, UtahHorseshoe Canyon Pictographs, UtahHorseshoe Canyon Pictographs, UtahWolf Man Panel, butler Wash, UtahThree Rivers Petroglyph SitePetroglyph National MonumentGalisteo BasinWhite RockPetroglyph National MonumentCrow CanyonNear Moab, UtahSanta Fe River GorgeLa CieneguillaLa CieneguillaCrow CanyonCrow CanyonCrow CanyonLa CieneguillaLa CieneguillaLa CieneguillaLa CieneguillaNewspaper Rock, Canyonlands, UtahLa CieneguillaLa CieneguillaSanta Fe River GorgeLa CieneguillaSanta Fe River GorgeRio Grande Gorge near TaosLa CieneguillaLa CienegaRio Grande Gorge at White RockLa CieneguillaLa CieneguillaPetroglyph National Monument

You can’t turn a corner in New Mexico without coming face to face with the ancient inhabitants of the southwest. The rocks still show us cryptical artwork of these peoples, and I have enjoyed finding and viewing it.

What does it mean? I honestly have only the haziest of ideas. Even the experts often speculate. All I know is that people spent countless hours pecking, scraping and painting these designs, and that it was important to them in ways we can’t fully understand.

Many of the photos in this gallery were taken along or near the Santa Fe River. They’re labeled by the closest settlement: La Bajada, La Cienega or La Cieneguilla. The Crow Canyon Petroglyphs are Navajo, and located in San Juan County, New Mexico. The Horseshoe Canyon pictographs feature the famous “Grand Gallery” from Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. One huge New Mexico location is the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, near Alamogordo, and another is Petroglyph National Monument, inside the Albuquerque metro area. Both feature many thousands of glyphs. Other great areas include the Galisteo basin and Mesa Prieta, but access is very limited at this time.