Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
Rock outcrop with mortar holes
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Location in California Show map of California Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Amador County, California
Nearest city	Pine Grove, California
Area	135 acres (55 ha)
Established	1962
Governing body	California Department of Parks and Recreation


Indian Grinding Rock
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Area	264 acres (106.8 ha)
NRHP reference No.	71000133
Added to NRHP	May 06, 1971

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park is a special place in California. It protects a huge rock with over 1,185 grinding holes! This is the biggest collection of these "bedrock mortars" in all of North America. You can find it in the Sierra Nevada foothills, about 8 miles (13 km) east of Jackson.

The park sits in a pretty valley about 2,400 feet (732 m) above sea level. It has open meadows and big valley oak trees. These trees once gave the Miwok people lots of acorns. The park covers 135 acres (55 ha). It became a state park in 1962 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

The Miwok people called this place "Chaw’se", which means "grinding rock." They used this rock to grind acorns and other seeds into meal. Over many years, this grinding slowly made the cup-shaped holes you can still see today. Besides the grinding holes, the main rock also has many petroglyphs. These are ancient carvings like circles, spoked wheels, animal and human tracks, and wavy lines. Some of these carvings might be two or three thousand years old. They are now a bit hard to see. This mix of rock art and grinding holes is very rare in California. Chaw'se is one of only two places known where grinding holes were purposely decorated with petroglyphs.

Chaw'se Regional Indian Museum
Wildlife in the Park
Images for kids
See also

Chaw'se Regional Indian Museum

This museum is right inside the park. It has many exhibits and a large collection of items from the Sierra Nevada Indian tribes. You can see how the Miwok people lived in a reconstructed village. This village includes a ceremonial roundhouse, which is a special meeting place. This site is so important that it's registered as California Historical Landmark #1001.

The museum building itself looks like a traditional roundhouse. Inside this two-story museum, you can learn about the tools and crafts of the Miwok and other Native American groups from the Sierra Nevada mountains. The museum shows items from many tribes. These include the Northern, Central, and Southern Miwok, Maidu, Konkow, Monache, Nisenan, Tubatulabal, Washoe, and Foothill Yokuts.

Wildlife in the Park

The types of birds you might see change with the seasons. But many birds live here all year. You might spot turkey vultures, California scrub and Steller's jays, California quail, acorn and hairy woodpeckers, northern flickers, hermit thrushes, and California thrashers. You can also see wild turkeys, which are not native to this area. In summer, colorful birds like the western tanager, northern oriole, calliope and Anna's hummingbirds fly around the woods.

Many animals live in and around the park. You might see deer, fox, gray and California ground squirrels, black-tailed jackrabbits, and bobcats. There are also bats flying at night. Sometimes, a mountain lion or black bear might visit. On quiet summer nights, you can often hear coyotes calling.