Pool Creek Petroglyphs

These dotted designs at Pool Creek haven't been found anywhere else in the monument.

NPS / Jake McFee

Quick Facts

Location:

Echo Park Road

Significance:

Petroglyph Site

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Look carefully. The petroglyphs at Pool Creek can be difficult to find. Along the Echo Park Road, a sign directs visitors down a short trail where a sheer cliff stands opposite a creek. Carved into the cliff about 35 feet (10.5 m) above ground level are several figures. The ancestral indigenous people of the region created these petroglyphs approximately a thousand years ago. But how did they place their designs so high up? Back when these petroglyphs were first carved, the ground's surface extended to the level where the petroglyphs are now. Over the last thousand years, water flowing in the creek channel on the west side of this canyon eroded that access, leaving the petroglyphs where we see them today.

Don't touch! Petroglyphs and pictographs are fragile, irreplaceable records of the past that many still hold sacred. Touching them can leave skin oils behind, and tracings or rubbings can ruin the designs. Federal law protects all artifacts, including these sites. Do your part to respect and protect the past, and report any vandalism you find.