This sign is located above the Lost Lake Viewpoint on the Big Obsidian Flow Trail.
Marker Name: Tools For Survival
Marker Text: For thousands of years, people have looked at obsidian and envisioned tools that would enable their families to survive.
Imagine if you had to gather your own food and make your own clothing and shelter. Your tools would by your most valuable possessions.
Of all the rocks used for tool making, obsidian was highly prized for its razor-sharp edge.
The Indian name for obsidian is “Isukws” (pronounced eshookwsh). The Indian name “Tanins”) pronounced taneensh) identifies an arrowpoint.
Like A Magnet
The abundance of obsidian drew native peoples to Newberry Crater. Walking for days from their winter camps along the Deschutes River, they arrived here and gathered a year’s supply of valuable rock from which they would fashion tools.
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