Rock Art of the Big Bend

Hidden across the reaches of the desert and mountains of Big Bend one can find signs of the past peoples who dwelt here.

Some places like the Chimneys or near Hot Springs are well marked and seen by many people. Near Persimmon Gap they say you can see the signs of the old Comanche War Trail.

Others are not so easily found. But, if you look at the right places you can find some very nice rock art here.

Here are a couple of images from such places. This field of large boulders has a variety of petroglyphs (carved into rock) and pictographs (painted on rock).

The large boulder panel measures some 10+ feet across. The petroglyphs rise 8-10 feet off the ground. I was here very early one morning and wanted to photograph the panel at twilight. I liked the idea of the distant dawn the panel painted by flash.

The second image is taken in a nearby shelter. Here I found pictographs painted on the ceiling of the large boulder as well as a grinding stone.

Look and explore out here. Never know what you will find.