The Greaser Petroglyph Site is located on land managed by the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

in eastern Lake County,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The designs were scraped into a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

boulder by Native Americans perhaps 12,000 years ago. No one knows the meaning of the designs. Because of its unique archaeological and cultural significance, the Greaser Petroglyph Site 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 ...

in 1974.

Prehistoric art

Native Americans have lived in southeastern Oregon for at least 15,000 years, according to a 2012 find in the

Paisley Caves The Paisley Caves or the Paisley Five Mile Point Caves complex is a system of eight caves in an arid, desolate region of south-central Oregon, United States north of the present-day city of Paisley, Oregon. The caves are located in the Summer Lak ...

. At that time, pluvial lakes filled many of the high desert basins. Little is known about the people who occupied the land at that time, except that they camped and hunted near the lakes. The earliest petroglyphs in southeastern Oregon may be as much as 15,000 years old or much older."Cultural Resources"
(PDF), ''Summary of the Analysis of the Management Situation for the Lakeview Resource Area – Resource Management Plan'', Lakeview Field Office, Lakeview District, Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of Interior, Lakeview, Oregon, July 2000, pp. 2.28–2.29."Greaser Petroglyph, OR"
Waymarking (posted by ''Volcanoguy''), Groundspeak Inc., ''www.waymarking.com'', 16 October 2007. In 1840, when the first white men came through southern Oregon, the Fort Bidwell Band and the Harney Valley Band of the

Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

tribe lived in the southeastern part of Oregon around Greaser Canyon. However, given the age of the carvings, it is possible that the Northern Paiute people had nothing to do with their creation. The meanings of the Greaser petroglyphs are not known. They may have been used in religious ceremonies or marked tribal ownership of territory. The designs may have been map directions or simply art created to tell a personal story. No one knows.

Protection

Because prehistoric petroglyph sites have great archaeological value and are often associated with Native American cultural practices, they are identified for protection when located on

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

lands. A majority of the government-owned petroglyph sites have been officially designated as "Areas of Critical Environmental Concern". This ensures maximum protection and careful preservation of these valuable cultural resources. There are also some sites of unique importance to the study of prehistory or of particularly cultural significance that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Because of its cultural significance and unique archaeological value, the Greaser Petroglyph Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 20 November 1974."Greaser Petroglyph Site"
, ''www.ourhistoricplaces.com'', 2008. The Greaser petroglyphs were vandalized at least once. However, Bureau of Land Management

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

s were able to repair the damage. Today, a sign warns visitors that altering the petroglyph designs in any way is a violation of federal law and can ruin the works.

Location

The Greaser Petroglyph Site is located east of

Lakeview, Oregon Lakeview is a town in Lake County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,418 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lake County. The city bills itself as the "Tallest Town in Oregon" because of its elevation, above sea level. Lak ...

. The site is in the Warner Valley near Greaser Canyon, east of the unincorporated community of Adel. The petroglyphs are carved on a southwest-facing basalt boulder, approximately north of

Oregon Route 140 Oregon Route 140 (OR 140) is a state highway in southern Oregon, United States. It is the longest state highway in Oregon, running from the community of White City, Oregon (just north of Medford), through Klamath Falls and on to Lakeview. It ...

. The protected area around the petroglyphs covers of open rangeland owned by the Bureau of Land Management.

References

External links

Bureau of Land Management – Lakeview DistrictOregon Rock Art
{{authority control Petroglyphs in Oregon Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Oregon Protected areas of Lake County, Oregon Bureau of Land Management areas in Oregon