Yakima Indian Painted Rocks
Encyclopedia
Indian Painted Rocks is a tiny state park (approximately 2000 sq ft (185.8 m²)) right outside Yakima
Yakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...

, Washington
Washington State
Washington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...

 at the intersection of Powerhouse and Ackely Roads. The Indian rock paintings, also known as pictographs are on a cliff of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

ic rocks parallel to the current Powerhouse road which was once an Indian trail and later a main pioneer road that connected the Ahtanum
Ahtanum, Washington
Ahtanum is a census-designated place in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,601 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Ahtanum is located at ....

 valley to the Wenas mountains.

The paintings were originally thought to be only a few hundred years old but it is likely they are much older than that - possibly over 1000 years old. The pictographs were painted on the cliff when a prehistoric lake submerged the bottom. The natives painted the cliff from canoes using organic materials.[1]

The rock paintings are stylized polychromatic
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...

paintings using white, red and black colors.

The state park was acquired from the Yakima Valley Canal Company in 1950.

In early 2007, the state parks department closed the Indian Painted Rocks park because of graffiti. There are plans to restructure the park in order to protect the painted rocks.

External links

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