The Denis Julien Inscription is a rock-carved graffito purportedly left by French- American trapper
Denis Julien Denis Julien (born 1772) was an American fur trapper of French-Canadian Huguenot origin best known for his activity in the southwestern United States in the 1830s and 1840s, at a time when he was one of the few people of European descent in the area ...
in southern Utah when he was traveling in the area in the late 1830s or early 1840s, one of the first Europeans to enter the area. The inscription is within the boundaries of
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is an American national park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their r ...
, on the bank of the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
. The inscription reads:
Denis Julian
MAIZ
1836'
The misspelling of "Julien" has led to doubts about its authenticity. One interpretation is that the apparent "a" is a script "e." The inscription was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on October 7, 1988.
The inscription is one of at least eight that Julien left in Utah between 1831 and 1844.
See also
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Julien Inscription Panel
The Julien Inscription Panel is a rock face in Arches National Park that has been marked by passers-by who have incised their names into the desert varnish on the sandstone rock of the vertical rock face. Most of the signatures have been added sin ...
, a similar inscription in
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is a national park in eastern Utah, United States. The park is adjacent to the Colorado River, north of Moab, Utah. More than 2,000 natural sandstone arches are located in the park, including the well-known Delicate Arch, a ...
more firmly attributed to Julien.
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Denis Julien Inscription (Grand County, Utah)
The Denis Julien Inscription is an incised carving on a rock face in a side canyon of the Green River north of Canyonlands National Park in southwestern Grand County, Utah, United States. The site is about to the east of the Green River in Hell ...
, more firmly attributed to Julien
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Denis Julien Inscription (Moffat County, Colorado) in
Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument is an American national monument located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green and Yampa rivers. Although most of the monument area is in ...
References
National Register of Historic Places in San Juan County, Utah
National Register of Historic Places in Canyonlands National Park
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