Yakima Indian Painted Rocks

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Indian Painted Rocks, Yakima, Washington
Indian Painted Rocks, Yakima, Washington

Indian Painted Rocks is a tiny state park (approximately 2,000 sq ft (200 m²)) right outside Yakima, Washington at the intersection of Powerhouse and Ackely Roads. The Indian rock paintings, also known as pictographs are on a cliff of basaltic rocks parallel to the current Powerhouse road which was once an Indian trail and later a main pioneer road that connected the Ahtanum valley to the Wenas mountains.

The paintings were originally thought to be only a few hundred years old but it is likely they are much older than that - possibly over 1000 years old. A sign located at the footsteps of the short trail states that even the local Indians, probably the Yakama, do not know the origin of these paintings.

The rock paintings are stylized polychromatic paintings using white, red and black colors.

The state park was acquired from the Yakima Valley Canal Company in 1950.

In early 2007, the state parks department closed the Indian Painted Rocks park because of graffiti. There are plans to restructure the park in order to protect the painted rocks.

Pictograph closeup
Pictograph closeup

[edit] Further reading

  • James D. Keyser (1992). Indian Rock Art of the Columbia Plateau. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97160-6. 
  • Ella E. Clark (2003). Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23926-1. 

[edit] External links