Petroglyph National Monument Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Petroglyph National Monument
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Petroglyph National Monument Location in New Mexico Show map of New Mexico Petroglyph National Monument Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Bernalillo County, New Mexico, US
Nearest city	Albuquerque, NM
Area	7,532 acres (30.48 km²)
Authorized	June 27, 1990 (1990-June-27)
Visitors	124,177 (in 2016)
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	Petroglyph National Monument

A "star person" petroglyph in the Rinconada section of Petroglyph National Monument

Petroglyphs on a large rock at Petroglyph National Monument

Petroglyph National Monument is a special place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It stretches for about 17 miles (27 km) along the city's western edge. This area is known as the West Mesa. It has a long cliff made of volcanic rock called basalt. This cliff stands out against the sky.

The monument was created on June 27, 1990. It covers about 7,236 acres (29.28 square kilometers). The National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque work together to manage it. On the western side of the monument, you can see a line of old, inactive volcanoes. These include Butte, Bond, Vulcan, Black, and JA volcanoes.

Petroglyph National Monument protects many important things. These include five volcanic hills, hundreds of old archaeological sites, and an estimated 24,000 images. These images were carved into rocks by Ancestral Puebloan peoples and early Spanish settlers. Some carvings show animals, people, or symbols like brands and crosses. Others are more complex, and their meaning might have been known only to the person who carved them. These carvings are a valuable part of the history and culture of the people who lived here long ago. The monument helps protect these lands and sites so that visitors can see and appreciate them for many years to come. You can visit four main areas: Boca Negra Canyon, Rinconada Canyon, Piedras Marcadas Canyon, and the Volcano Day Use trails.

How the Land Was Formed
- How Petroglyphs Are Made
Cultural History and Meaning
Images for kids
See also

How the Land Was Formed

About 200,000 years ago, six volcanoes erupted in this area. These eruptions created a 17-mile (27 km) long cliff. This cliff is made of thick layers of basalt rock and cooled lava. When the volcanoes erupted, hot, melted lava flowed downhill. It moved through old waterways, called arroyos. This created triangle-shaped channels around hills. Over a long time, the hills wore away, but the strong basalt rocks stayed. These rocks eventually cracked, forming the canyons and cliffs we see today.

Later, more eruptions happened. Thicker lava cooled to form the inactive volcanic hills west of the monument. You can see these hills from the top of the mesa. This unique way the land formed is called "reverse topography." It means the low areas became high, and the high areas wore away.

How Petroglyphs Are Made

The basalt rocks are perfect for making petroglyphs, or rock carvings. These rocks have a lot of iron, manganese, and calcium. This mix makes the rocks a gray color. But after thousands of years in the desert, a dark layer forms on the surface. This layer is called "desert varnish." It forms when the iron and manganese in the rock mix with oxygen in the air and water from rain. This causes the minerals to rust, making the surface dark and shiny, almost black. Long ago, Native Americans and Spanish settlers found they could create images by chipping away this dark layer. This showed the lighter rock underneath.

Cultural History and Meaning

The petroglyph images at the monument are very important to Pueblo peoples and other Native groups. These rock carvings have many different and deep meanings.

Archaeologists believe some carvings, especially in the Boca Negra Canyon area, are as old as 3,000 years. They figure out the age by how dark the image is, what it shows, and by comparing it to other carvings from the same time. It's thought that about 90 percent of the petroglyphs were made between the years AD 1300 and the late 1600s. This was a time when the Native population grew quickly. Many Pueblo adobe villages were built along the Rio Grande River and at the base of the Sandia Mountains.