Overview

Aside from the dinosaur, recreational, scenic, natural, cultural heritage and geological intrinsic values, the region yields evidence 10,000 years of human habitation that included Ancient Desert Culture, Fremont, more recent Native Americans, western settlers, and present inhabitants.

Rock Art

Much, much later in history Ancient Native Americans of the Desert Culture-one of the oldest cultures in Utah-maintained a recognizable continuity for nearly 15,000 years. This incredibly stable culture persisted until about 500 AD or 1000 years ago when it blended with, grew into, or was replaced by the Fremont Culture. The old hunting and gathering culture gave way to a partly farming culture that included some ideas from the Anasazi farmers to the south. Part farmer, part hunter, the Fremont peoples lived in semi-subterranean pit houses.

The anthropomorphs typically have trapezoidal bodies, which may or may not include arms, legs, fingers, and toes. They are often elaborately decorated with designs suggesting headdresses, earrings, and necklaces, and they may hold shields or other objects. The zoomorphs include recognizable bighorn sheep, birds, snakes, and lizards, as well as more abstract animal-like shapes. Purely abstract or geometric designs, such as circles, spirals, and various combinations of lines, are common. Among petroglyphs, most designs are outlines, but some are completely pecked to form solid figures, and a few consist of small holes in closely-spaced rows. Some petroglyphs show traces of pigment, and it its possible that many designs originally included both carved and painted areas.Rock art provides fascinating graphic symbols, and messages of prehistoric human habitation. There are concentrations of rock art at many locales along the Dinosaur Diamond to the delight of both visitors and archaeologists. Both pictographs and petroglyphs are abundant and speak to a long age of human habitation.

The following areas and images are only a very small sample of what awaits visitors within and around the 'Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway'.

Dinosaur National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument was designated in 1915 to protect several hundred acres of a dinosaur fossil quarry and was greatly expanded two decades later to include the awe-inspiring canyons and plateaus that surround the site. Native American rock art within the monument testifies to the allure these canyons and rivers had for prehistoric people.The monument includes some of the wildest and most spectacular scenery in the American Southwest. It includes a large stretch of the Yampa River, the last free-flowing river in the Colorado River System. The areas is home to the imperiled peregrine falcon, bald eagle, and several endangered species. Black bears and mountain lions share the landscape with antelope, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and beaver.

Ashley Forest

Ashley National Forest is located in northeastern Utah and Wyoming. It encompasses 1,384,132 National Forest acres, (1,287,909 in Utah and 96,223 in Wyoming). Of the total acres, 276,175 are High Uintas Wilderness (180,530 additional acres of High Uintas Wilderness is located on the Wasatch / Cache National Forest). Elevations on the Ashley National Forest range from 6,000 feet to over 13,500 feet.

The Classic Vernal Style of rock art is characterized by anthropomorphs that have trapezoidal torsos (broad shoulders and narrow waists), large heads, well-defined extremities, and necklaces. The zoo morphs seen vary from mountain sheep to deer to snakes. Abstract and geometric shapes are also found in the same frame as Classic Vernal figures, but do not play a major role as in other Fremont cultures. When compared to the rock art of other Fremont cultures, it is easy to see how the artists who perfected the Classic Vernal Style emphasized technical design, execution, decoration, and geometry. If one were to put a Classic Vernal panel side by side with panels from Nine Mile Canyon, San Rafael, and San Juan II, the differences would be apparent.

Canyon Pintado (BLM)

The Canyon Pintado Historic District, a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located in northwest Colorado in the Douglas Valley south of Rangely. Canyon Pintado (Painted Canyon) has been occupied by prehistoric people for as long as 11,000 years and was visited repeatedly by a variety of cultures throughout its long history. One culture that left a visible mark on the Canyon was the Fremont. The Canyon provides the largest concentration of Fremont archaeological sites along the Dinosaur Diamond. More than fifty archaeological sites in the Canyon Pintado District were the handiwork of Fremont-age peoples.

Rock Art can be found at several sites throughout the Dinosaur Diamond making it home to one of the most spectacular rock art regions in the world.

Canyon Pintado Rock Art Map & Tour

Dry Forks Petroglyphs

This is one tour you will always remember! These Native American petroglyphs are world renown, found all along 200-foot-high “Navajo Formation” sandstone cliffs. The tour can take from 1 to 8 hours, depending haw far you want to go and how much you want to see. Trails take you up close and personal to view figures up to 9 feet tall. These figures represent the Fremont culture, which flourished in this area from about 1-1200 AD. The petroglyphs are on private land. Visitors are asked to obey all signs and respect the sites. The parking lot for the petroglyphs is located of a mile off the main canyon road and is accessible year round.

From the center of downtown Vernal (Hwy 191 and Main street), head west to 500 West, turn north (right) and head out on the Maeser Hwy (121) to 3500 West. Turn North (right) and head about 10 miles up the road until you reach a major fork in the road (a sign reads "Red Cloud Loop") and turn right. Cross the bridge and continue on the pavement for another two miles until you reach the shade of the  cottonwoods, box elders, steep canyon walls, and a large stream which is Dry Fork Creek.

San Rafael Swell

The San Rafael Swell is a large kidney-shaped geographic feature near Price and Green River, Utah, formed by the structural uplift of the region 40 to 60 million years ago. These large uplifts are known as anticlines. Erosion, water, and wind have removed thousands of feet of sediments and sculpted the landforms present today. Formations at the surface were deposited 100 to 230 million years ago. Rock art is smattered on the walls throughout the San Rafael Swell. There are too many exhibits in this "open-air" museum to lead you to all of them, however the Cottonwood Wash/ Buckhorn Wash road trip takes you to the Buckhorn Wash Panel and Black Dragon is a short side trip off I-70 that offers many rock art panels

Black Dragon Rock Art Map (Pdf file)
Buckhorn Wash Rock Art Map (Pdf file)
BLM - San Rafael Swell Archeological Study
Video Link - San Rafael Swell Historical - courtesy of BLM San Rafael Swell Study

Moab Rock Art

The Moab area has numerous examples of Native American rock art to enjoy.

Moab Rock Art Tour

Dinosaur Diamond Partnership