Canyonlands - Newspaper Rock

Newspaper Rock is a unique archeological site along the access road to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park (it is outside the national park). The variation in the styles and the amount of patina redevelopment provides clues to the different ages and cultures that visited the site. Some of the inscriptions do not appear to be as old as the more faded images that have regained a slight patina. Note that the image of a warrior on a horse was obviously added after horses were introduced to North America by Europeans in the 16th century. Also note how ongoing erosion over time has remove several feet of soil from the base of the rock (below the more ancient dark rock-surface patina and petroglyphs on the rock (Utah State History, 2010).