Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish settlers.

Handprints and other petroglyphs on boulders at Piedras Marcadas.

Handprint petroglyphs in Piedras Marcadas Canyon

A petroglyph of a bird at Rinconada Canyon.

Bird Petroglyph

Petroglyphs of a bird and a footprint at Piedras Marcadas Canyon.

Bird and Footprint Petroglyphs

A line of cinder cone volcanoes at the Volcanoes Day Use Area.

The Volcanoes of Petroglyph

Petroglyph panel of sheep grazing in Rinconada Canyon.

Petroglyph of grazing sheep in Rinconada Canyon

Winter scene of snow covered cinder cones at the Volcanoes Day Use Area.

Snow Dusted Cinder Cones

Petroglyph of a macaw parrot along the Macaw Trail in Boca Negra Canyon.

Macaw petroglyph

A petroglyph of a hawk at Mesa Prieta. It can be visited from the South Point trailhead.

Hawk petroglyph at Mesa Prieta

These petroglyphs could possibly depict a coyote and a rattlesnake, two of the more commonly seen animals at the monument.

Coyote and rattlesnake petroglyphs

Petroglyph imagery of a coyote and rattlesnake in Rinconada Canyon.

Coyote and rattlesnake petroglyphs in Rinconada Canyon

Petroglyph of a small mammal along the Mesa Point Trail in Boca Negra Canyon.

Petroglyph National Monument

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Nearby Parks

Rio Grande Nature Center State Park

Cibola National Forest and Grasslands