Saturday, January 8, 2011

Legend Rock Petroglyphs

If you enjoy viewing Indian rock art, this is the place to see. The Legend Rock Petroglyphs are perhaps the most impressive collection of petroglyphs in Wyoming and rank up there with most that I have seen in my many travels in the western United States. The site contains nearly 300 petroglyphs along a 300 yd long cliff face depicting bison, elk, humans, and even a rabbit. This rock art ranges from 100 to 11,000 years old, but most are classified as the Dinwoody tradition, which is only seen in the Bighorn Basin and Wind River Basin west of the Bighorn River. Dinwoody Petroglyphs are always pecked and are often of large humanlike figures with headdresses, an unusual amount of fingers or toes, have a pattern of interior lines in the torso, and are sometimes upside down. This site is considered one of the oldest and best examples of the Dinwoody rock art.