Indian Painted Rocks is a tiny state park (approximately ) right outside
Yakima
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
at the intersection of Powerhouse and Ackely Roads. The Indian rock paintings, also known as
pictographs
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and gr ...
are on a cliff of
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 ...
ic 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. The pictographs were painted on the cliff when a prehistoric lake submerged the bottom. The natives painted the cliff from canoes using organic materials.
The rock paintings are stylized
polychromatic
Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors.
Ancient Egypt
Colossal statue ...
paintings using white, red and black colors. The paintings are said to have been enhanced by
Lucullus Virgil McWhorter
Lucullus Virgil McWhorter (January 29, 1860 – October 10, 1944) was an American farmer and frontiersman who documented the historical Native American tribes in West Virginia and the modern-day Plateau Native Americans in Washington (state), Wash ...
using enamel paints, a technique unacceptable to today's preservation community.
The state park was acquired from the Yakima Valley Canal Company in 1950.
A sign erected by the Washington State Highway Commission at the park's entrance states the following: ''Origin of these paintings is unknown to present day Indian tribes of this region. They are similar to many others found in western North America and are often interpreted as depicting religious experiences, as well as records of hunts or meetings with other tribes. This location was on the old Indian trail which ran from the Wenas Mountains to the Ahtanum bank of the Yakimas. In the 1850s, miners en route to British Columbia gold fields used the same trail. Later, as Americans settled the Yakima Valley, a stage coach route passed these cliffs.''
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.
Further reading
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External links
Spokane Outdoors virtual tour of the Painted Rocks
Native American history of Washington (state)
Yakima, Washington
Rock art in North America
Parks in Yakima County, Washington
Petroglyphs in Washington (state)
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