Dusty Jeans & Genes - Part 7 - Nine Mile Canyon

Sunday, 22 April 2018

Nine Mile Canyon is in a little-visited part of eastern Utah. Despite its name, the canyon is actually about 40 miles long, and has numerous side canyons. It is known for its large number of petroglyphs that were created by peoples of the Fremont culture from the 10th century to the 13th centuries CE. Some of the later art appears to have been done by Utes. It seems that humans of all sorts and cultures just have to make art.

The canyon is spectacular in its own right. The valley is mostly private ranches. The discovery and development of natural gas resources in the canyon complex has greatly increased heavy truck traffic and may pose a threat to the archeological sites.

First Site petroglyphs.

Daddy Canyon petroglyphs.

Lon hiking up the short Daddy Canyon trail.

The appropriately named Big Buffalo petroglyph.

Rocks were frequently covered with colorful lichens.

The last petroglyph in the canyon is known as the "Great Hunt", and depicts hunting big-horn sheep with bows and arrows.

There are over 1,000 documented petroglyph panels in the canyons; only about a dozen are open to the public. Some are on private land, and others are known only to researchers.