Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area is a area of undeveloped land that stretches from I-44 to 71st Street in
Tulsa in the US state of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. It is managed by the Tulsa River Parks Authority and open to the public. The main entrance to the wilderness area is at 67th Street and Elwood Avenue in
West Tulsa West Tulsa is a local name given to an area situated in the west section of the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma which includes various communities to the west and south of the Arkansas River. As development between Sand Springs and Tulsa continued in the ...
.
Turkey Mountain
Turkey Mountain is a hill occupying a wide area on the west side of the
Arkansas River in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The summit is above the river below,
offering a good view of Tulsa.
Trails
The Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area have four marked trails between in length, for running or cycling as well as over of unmarked trails. The 25 mile long ''River Parks'' paved trail passes through the Turkey Mountain Wilderness Area, close to the river, connecting the area to other river side parks in Tulsa.
In June 2016, the
National Park Service designated the Turkey Mountain trails as part of the
National Recreation Trail
The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...
system.
Claimed petroglyphs
Close to the river
there are several markings in the stone, one of which has been claimed to be the letters "gwn" (claimed to mean fair or white hair). These were believed by writer
Barry Fell
Howard Barraclough Fell (June 6, 1917 – April 21, 1994), better known as Barry Fell, was a professor of invertebrate zoology at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. While his primary professional research included starfish and sea urchi ...
to be petroglyphs left by
pre-Columbian European travelers. The idea of
Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact by Europeans, apart from the
Vikings in
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, is considered a
fringe theory or
pseudoarchaeology.
[Debbie Jackson and Hillary Pittman]
" Fascination with Turkey Mountain is legendary"
'' Tulsa World'', March 12, 2015.
References
{{reflist
External links
Official web site
Geography of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Hills of Oklahoma
Protected areas of Tulsa County, Oklahoma
Tourist attractions in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Pseudoarchaeology