Indigenous people lived in this area for thousands of years before moving to other areas. It appears their descendants are now the Hopi tribe in AZ and the Puebloans now in New Mexico. They lived mainly in pithouses (holes in the ground) and wickiups made from branches. Remains of those have long disappeared, leaving the primary evidence of their existence here in the form of rock art. The Barrier Canyon culture (about 2000 years ago) painted images on boulders and cliff walls. Alien appearing human figures, some holding snakes, and humanoid images with wings are examples of their art. The Fremont culture from 1000 years ago pecked images into rocks. Painted images are pictographs, pecked or scratched images are petroglyphs.
At an area called Head of Sinbad, we found pictographs and a formation known as Dutchman's Arch.
One of the more impressive sites is Black Dragon Canyon, named for a pictograph long thought to be a rendering of a dragon. I personally think it is merely a bird standing by a stream, but what do I know?
In addition to the "dragon", there are many other images, as well as more modern additions to the collection. While we were there, a group of young people arrived, so I included them in a photo to give scale to the rock art.
In 1935, an exploratory oil shaft drilled alongside the Green River penetrated a pocket of highly carbonated water, creating what is now known as Crystal Geyser. While technically not a true geyser, this cold water spring does erupt periodically, but isn't on a set frequency. At one time, its eruptions went up to 200 feet high, but now top out at 8-10 feet. Over the years, the spring has built up layers of travertine that are quite scenic. Although it did not erupt during this visit, I took lots of photos of the travertine layers.
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