These pictographs are found in a low cave at the foot of a volcanic ridge. This low cave is about 5 feet high, requiring one to stoop to enter. It is fairly wide, though – probably three or so times as wide as it is high.
Looking into the shelter.
The cave overlooks a creek flowing about a third of a mile to the east, which made it suitable for habitation – and indeed, evidence of habitation includes soot damage on the ceiling as well as remnants of a hearth or ash pit in the floor.
According to the historic record a basket and ceramic bowl were excavated from this site in the 1930’s by a local woman. Later her son tried to find more artifacts with dynamite! He apparently found nothing, and fortunately the cave and pictographs were not damaged.
With DStretch, the pictographs are clearly visible.
Like another cave in the vicinity, the pictographs in this cave are a rarity: the surrounding area is much better known for petroglyphs. Therefore, it is possible that these pictographs represent a cultural intrusion into the area.
The pictographs themselves are nondescript and do not offer any clues to possible cultural origins.
The left ( southern ) side of the pictograph panel.
The elements are all painted in the same plane along the back of the wall, a few feet off the ground. One element, a linear shape with feathered lines pointing downwards from its ends, is more vivid than the others.
Unfortunately, this cave has also drawn the attention of vandals who tried to outline some of the fainter elements in chalk to make them more visible. The end result is neither pleasing nor particularly accurate.
DStretch shows exquisite details, including what appears to the modern eye to be a train engine!
A better way to make out faint elements is to take photos and enhance them later, either in a photo manipulation program or by using something such as the excellent DStretch plug-in that I use extensively.
Viewing the elements from left to right, we first find an A-shaped symbol at the far left.
Directly below it are three evenly spaced lines, and to the right is a delicate, intricate element.
The rear wall of the cave.
This is the element that was most defaced with chalk, and the crudeness of the attempt is driven home when viewing the element with DStretch.
It is shown to have vertical lines on both sides, with a weave pattern in the space between the lines topped with vertical strokes. Below the element a zig-zag line and another faint line completes the design.
DStretch shows the elements in detail.
There is some space between these elements and the next ones, which occupies the rear center of the cave wall.
This set of elements consists of the vivid linear element, a long, meandering line terminating in a circle to the left, and some Rectilinear symbols. Some indistinct areas of pigment are also present, as well as one of the ubiquitous rake elements that can be found in many petroglyph panels across the region.
Despite being clearly visible, the vivid element was also defaced with chalk outlines.
The meander line in the center of the pictograph panel shows well-spaced curves. Also visible is a grouping of lines, a rake element lower center, and a pigmented area upper right.
More detailed view of the center-left part of the pictograph panel, showing the meander line, the vivid element, and chalk outline vandalism. Also noticeable is the lower part of a Rectilinear element, top center.
With DStretch applied, it is clear that the upper element was drawn using the crack in the rock face as a design element, with pigment rubbed into the space.
The far right side of the shelter.
The right side of the cave is more sparsely decorated, having only a fairly large rake-like element, as well as some other areas of pigmentation including one down low to the ground that is also the rightmost element in the panel.
With DStretch, the faint pigment resolves into a set of evenly spaced, short vertical lines.
DStretch shows the short vertical lines and rake-like element in more detail.
The cave is quite deep, around 8 or 9 feet deep, and the ceiling is somewhat concave. It is set on a gentle slope at the foot of a north-south trending volcanic bluff.
There are several large boulders scattered around the area. A large, level area gradually tapers towards a distant creek.
None of the boulders in the immediate vicinity showed additional signs of habitation, such as grinding slicks or mortars.
If you visit this site, please do no further damage to the pictographs. They can be seen clearly enough when closely observed, or later on through enhanced photographs. The rock surface is sandy and rough. Your touch will likely wear away pigment or deposit skill oils or other contaminants that can damage the pigment over time. The best thing to do is to observe the rock face and its pictographs but not touch it in any way. Leave the site as you found it for others to discover and enjoy.