National monument of Petroglyph

The national monument of Petroglyph , or Petroglyph National Monument extends on 27 km along New Mexico' S West Mesa, a volcanic escarpment made up of Basalte which dominates the western horizon of the town of Albuquerque, to the New Mexico. Created on June 27th, 1990, this " monument" of 29 km ² is managed by the Service of the National parks and the city of Albuquerque.

Protected elements

Petroglyph National Monument protects various cultural and natural elements, inter alia five volcanic cones, of the hundreds of archeological sites and a number estimated from 20 to 25.000 images engraved by the Indian people (inter alia the ancestors of the Pueblos Indians) and by the first Spanish colonists. These images are the heritage of people which for a long time migrated towards other areas. This " monument" protect the petroglyphs so that the visitors and the future generations can contemplate them.

Wild life

This " monument" shelter many animal species, but some deserve a special mention:

two species of Thousand legs are endemic S of this protected area: Orthoporus ornatus , brown black and Comanchelus chihuanus , gray black, considered as very rare.
several species of snakes whose majority are night and inoffensive, but also two species of poisonous rattlesnakes (Crotale S): Crotalus atrox and crotalus viridis .

Geology

The escarpment of West Mesa is in fact an old lava flow resulting from cracks visualized by five volcanic cones. The last eruption goes back to 150.000 years. The lava then produced gave basalt while cooling.

Petroglyph S

Basalt, gray in the beginning, overlapped with time with a fine layer black or brown dark with oxides called deserted varnish . When this layer is removed, the clearer subjacent rock appears, forming a gray contrast on black. It is this characteristic which the engravers of the petroglyphs used.

Oldest have an age estimated at 2000 years before J. - C., but the majority seem to be engraved between 1300 and 1690 after J. - C. Many these images represent animals, people, various signs and cross; others are more complex. Their significance was undoubtedly included/understood only by the person who engraved them, perhaps but they had a role in the traditional ritual ceremonies.

National Park Service: National Petroglyph Monument

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