Writing Rock State Historical Site, located twelve miles (19 km) northeast of Grenora, North Dakota in Divide County near the

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

border, is the site of two large granite boulders, carved with petroglyphs featuring thunderbirds, mythological creatures that are of importance in the culture of Plains Indian tribes. The age of the carvings has not been determined, but they could date from 1000 to about 1700, according to the North Dakota Historical Society. While the meaning of many of the images is lost to history, both Sioux and

Assiniboine The Assiniboine or Assiniboin people ( when singular, Assiniboines / Assiniboins when plural; Ojibwe: ''Asiniibwaan'', "stone Sioux"; also in plural Assiniboine or Assiniboin), also known as the Hohe and known by the endonym Nakota (or Nakod ...

peoples considered the site sacred. For many years, that smaller boulder was kept at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

, but in 1965, it was returned to what had by then become the Writing Rock State Historic Site. Today, the two boulders are enclosed in a shelter and protected by iron bars at the historic site. Recreational facilities at the historic site include picnic tables in a grove of trees, picnic shelters, a building with a kitchen, fireplace, playground equipment, restrooms, and a parking lot.

Petroglyphs and carvings

The design on the rocks are clearly American Indian by design. Similar rock art sites are found in Roche Percee and Kamsack, Saskatchewan; Longview and

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is located about southeast of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, or east of the community of Milk River, and straddles the Milk River itself. It is one of the largest areas of protected prairie in the Alberta park sy ...

, Alberta; Pictograph Cave near

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

; Dinwoody, Wyoming; Ludlow Cave at Buffalo, South Dakota; and at numerous archeological sites in the upper midwestern United States. Thunderbirds, mythological creatures responsible for lightning and thunder, are central to stories told by Algonquian-speaking and Siouan-speaking tribes. Many Plains Indians such as Plains Cree, Plains Ojibwa,

Gros Ventre The Gros Ventre ( , ; meaning "big belly"), also known as the Aaniiih, A'aninin, Haaninin, Atsina, and White Clay, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana. Today the Gros Ventre people are ...

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

, Mandan, and

Hidatsa The Hidatsa are a Siouan people. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. Their language is related to that of the Crow, and they are sometimes considered a parent ...

used thunderbirds in their art. The design appears on prehistoric artifacts such as shell and bone pendants and pottery, as well as on rock art. Most of these artifacts on the northern plains date from A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1700. The larger of the two granite boulders measures four and one-half feet high and four feet wide. A massive, flying bird surrounded by interconnected lines and circles covers the flattest side of the boulder. The second, smaller rock is three and one-half feet long, two feet wide, and one and one-half feet high. It displays a smaller, flying bird connected to circles and abstract lines. A second bird, which is missing its head, flies above the other designs. All of the motifs were pecked by pounding a hard rock against the boulders or were ground into the surfaces.

References

{{authority control Pre-statehood history of North Dakota State parks of North Dakota Buildings and structures in Divide County, North Dakota Protected areas of Divide County, North Dakota North Dakota State Historic Sites Petroglyphs in North Dakota