This petroglyph, found in Nine Mile Canyon in the Utah desert is more than 1,000 years old and should be preserved.
It and thousands of others are currently in danger of permanent and irrevocable damage. The process of rapid degradation has already begun!
Located high on the side of a sheer cliff in a rugged place in central Utah named Nine Mile Canyon is an ancient petroglyph dating back over 1,000 years. A petroglyph is a work of prehistoric Indian rock art that is chiseled or “pecked” into rock, usually into a dark patina surface.
Almost as fascinating as the petroglyph, is where it was carved... over 100 feet above ground on the side of a cliff. Unfortunately, this panel, along with 1000's of other ancient works of art, are in danger of being destroyed by industrial gas and oil development in the area.
According to Pam Miller, a trained archaeologist and Chair of the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, The above examples of are one of more than 10,000 unique petroglyphs and pictographs (prehistoric Indian art painted on rock) found in the canyon that are being obliterated by dust and destroyed by dust-suppressant chemicals (magnesium chloride) being sprayed on roads, and jepordized by the vibrations of huge trucks, drill rigs, bulldozers, and industrial traffic.”
Nine-Mile Canyon is an outdoor museum. It has some remarkable examples of Indian art and remnants of dwellings and other structures that have remained untouched through the centuries
