Rock Art of the Lost Mesa
Rock Art of the Lost Mesa.
One of the many neat things one can find throughout the west are areas with rock art. Places where ancient man left petroglyphs and pictographs.
There are many famous places in the west where one can find rock, there are also many unheralded places where spectacular rock art can be found. The Lost Mesa is one of those unheralded places.
Much of that fact is also that the Lost Mesa itself is an unknown that even those that live within a few hours of it are often unaware where it is or how big it is. Of course, there are also no paved roads here, the only way to find yourself here is to want to be here.
So in the end it is understandable that the rock art of the Lost Mesa is only known to a few folks.
On the flanks of some lonely mountains here on the open range country of the Lost Mesa one can find hundreds of petroglyphs, that is carvings on rock.
I have found panels that are 8 feet high and ten feet across. I have seen a three foot tall glyph of the Tlaloc Man. You can see some of my other posts tagged with rock art to see some of the amazing petroglyphs that are to be found there.
Here are a couple of more that hold interest. The top image is of the Wind God, again a glyph that is close to three feet tall. I had heard rumors that they could be found here and I spent a couple of days looking for them. Every rock can have a surprise and what looks like a small uninteresting rock on one side can be the perfect rock face on the other. That was the case with this one. From the other side this rock looks like it has little chance of containing art, but wow is this one to see. I had actually been to this general area of the mountain before but had missed them by 30 or 40 yards. Luck was with me on my last visit and I was delighted to finally find them.
Then take a look at the second image, several smaller pieces of art, but one in particular jumps out at me. That is a bison. Notice the hump on the back and the horns. No doubt to me that is a bison petroglyph. Again, it was one that was quite neat to find.
The rock art found here is really quite amazing and yet another reason I find this area so spectacular. It is also why I continue to hope that the area can gain protection with status as a National Monument.
See more images from this amazing area in the Galleries section of my website
Lost Mesa Gallery
There are many famous places in the west where one can find rock, there are also many unheralded places where spectacular rock art can be found. The Lost Mesa is one of those unheralded places.
Much of that fact is also that the Lost Mesa itself is an unknown that even those that live within a few hours of it are often unaware where it is or how big it is. Of course, there are also no paved roads here, the only way to find yourself here is to want to be here.
So in the end it is understandable that the rock art of the Lost Mesa is only known to a few folks.
On the flanks of some lonely mountains here on the open range country of the Lost Mesa one can find hundreds of petroglyphs, that is carvings on rock.
I have found panels that are 8 feet high and ten feet across. I have seen a three foot tall glyph of the Tlaloc Man. You can see some of my other posts tagged with rock art to see some of the amazing petroglyphs that are to be found there.
Here are a couple of more that hold interest. The top image is of the Wind God, again a glyph that is close to three feet tall. I had heard rumors that they could be found here and I spent a couple of days looking for them. Every rock can have a surprise and what looks like a small uninteresting rock on one side can be the perfect rock face on the other. That was the case with this one. From the other side this rock looks like it has little chance of containing art, but wow is this one to see. I had actually been to this general area of the mountain before but had missed them by 30 or 40 yards. Luck was with me on my last visit and I was delighted to finally find them.
Then take a look at the second image, several smaller pieces of art, but one in particular jumps out at me. That is a bison. Notice the hump on the back and the horns. No doubt to me that is a bison petroglyph. Again, it was one that was quite neat to find.
The rock art found here is really quite amazing and yet another reason I find this area so spectacular. It is also why I continue to hope that the area can gain protection with status as a National Monument.
See more images from this amazing area in the Galleries section of my website
Lost Mesa Gallery
