Home Album Guide to Newspaper Rock Topo No Story
| Distance: | NA |
| Difficulty: | NA |
| Hike Time: | NA |
| Elevation: | Approx 6170 ft. |
| Season: | Year Round |
| USGS Maps: | (Utah) Church Rock, Photograph Gap, Harris Point South |
| Directions: From: Monticello, UT |
Drive approximately 14.4 miles North from Monticello on US191 to the junction with State Road 211. Turn West on 211 and drive approximately 12.5 miles to the State Park. |
Through out the west, there probably are several panels that are referred to as "Newspaper Rock" (a mural in the Petrified Forest in AZ also is know as Newspaper Rock). The State of Utah has set up a State Park to preserve the panel located on State Road 211. The road is paved and should be passable year round for all cars (avoid winter storms). The only facilities that I noticed were the restrooms - bring your own water. This State Park did not charge a use fee as of the beginning of summer in 2002.
I was slightly disappointed when we first arrived - I think I was expecting the mural to be about three times larger than it is. Ms. Trekker was just disappointed. When she made a comment to that effect as we registered at our motel in Bluff, UT, she was told that "they have done things to the petroglyphs to make them more pronounced". None-the-less, it was amazing to see the density and variety of petroglyphs in the mural. This Park is definitely a worthwhile stop for anyone touring the South East corner of Utah.
In this album, I have also included a few pictures of a small petroglyph panel we saw while in Bluff UT. We always try to schedule our trip so that we can stay at a lodge in Bluff where there are photographic presentations given almost nightly. From the presentation given during our last stay, it is evident that the area around Bluff is loaded with petroglyph sites.
A co-worker told me about a "newspaper rock" that he had read about, but which he remembered as being located in New Mexico. According to the article that he read, pictures from satellite x-ray imagery show the remnants of sub-surface paths radiating out from the panel like the spokes from the hub of a wheel. We can't see the paths from the surface, but the x-ray imagery can penetrate a few inches below the surface to "see" them. The implication is that the newspaper rocks may have been a gathering places for a variety of cultures or tribes. Can anyone shed any light on the possibility of another "newspaper rock" located in New Mexico?
Enjoy!
Trekker