White Tank Mountain Petroglyph Site - Waddell, AZ - Pictographs on Waymarking.com

The White Tank Mountains in the far west area of Phoenix are the site of several petroglyph groupings. Located in a county park and publicly accessible, several canyons contain groups of petroglyphs. These were created over possibly 10,000 years of human history by scratching through the desert varnish. Desert varnish, a dark coating on the white rocks, develops at the rate of one ten thousandth of an inch per year. Using that rate petroglyphs can be dated and the oldest can be lost to the development of the varnish. The earliest would have been created by ancient peoples with no known records beyond their rock scratchings. The HoHokam people arrived in 500 a.d. and disappeared in 1100a.d. The petroglyphs after that time were created by the western Yavapai in the historical period. The symbol's meanings are known mostly to their creator. They may have had religious or family affiliation or have noted camping spots or trails.
Most of the trails in the White Tank mountains will have groups of petroglyphs. One of the major areas is along the Waterfall trail which leads to a tank of rainwater. One significant rock on the trail shows both older, disappearing, petroglyphs alongside newer. The crack in the rock is fully exposed to sunlight at the point of summer solstice.

Type of Pictograph: Petroglyph

Visit Instructions:
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2. You must include a close up photo of the pictograph and your GPSr. The pictograph must be recognizable.

3. Tell a little bit about what you learned of the area.

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