Rock inscriptions in Southeast Utah

This is canyon country, a landscape defined by the forces of nature that have carved their way through the red sandstone for millions of years and still continue to perform their work. The human history of this landscape carries a similar throughline: Rock inscriptions carved on canyon walls over thousands of years lend whispers of the history of the people who came before.

Petroglyphs and pictographs across the region preserve thousands of years of human history, spanning many cultures over time. There is much to be learned from these marks pecked or painted onto canyon walls, and they remain important sites for Native communities today. 

by Moab Museum Staff November 17, 2022

Newspaper Rock, on the banks of Indian Creek in Bears Ears National Monument, includes petroglyphs of animal pelts, figures riding horses, and broad-shouldered figures with elaborate head decorations. Like many other petroglyph panels, it includes inscriptions made over several different time periods. [Moab Museum Collection, Elaine Peterson Collection]