The Squaw Spring petroglyph site is a very small site consisting of a few petroglyphs on a rock outcropping some distance away from the spring. This site is in Kawaiisu territory. The Kawaiisu also lived in the Greenhorn mountains around Tehachapi where they painted very elaborate pictographs. To me the contrast between the art in their desert territory and their mountain territory is quite marked.
In the desert it is not uncommon to find petroglyphs near water sources – springs, ancient lake beds, seasonal tanks. Maybe this is simply because settlement occurred close to water and the people who lived there carved the stones to mark their presence. Maybe these water sources held a spiritual power to the people who visited and used them, and they left petroglyphs in these places of power.
Let’s look at the petroglyphs that can be seen at Squaw Spring.
The Squaw Spring Site. The perforated pipe is a leftover from mining activity in the area. The burst-type petroglyph in the lower left corner is the most well-known petroglyph at the site. The varnished part of the rock outcropping in the center of the picture is where the rest of the petroglyphs at this site can be found.
The burst element. Unlike the pecked petroglyphs so common in this area, this petroglyph was scratched, created by scraping away the desert varnish. The spidery scratches on the rock are modern vandalism.
These are the most well-defined elements on the larger rock outcropping. This motif of circles and lines is very common in the Great Basin.
Higher up on the outcropping are two more circles and some Rectilinear elements. Some of the damage to this surface looks like it was inflicted by gunshots.
A very faint line rubbed into the varnish at the foot of the outcropping.
This simple Rectilinear element is close by the faint line we just saw.
Squaw Springs is no secret – it is easy to find out where it is and visit it. Some of the literature referring to it claims that you can visit in a passenger car, or at least get close enough to walk, but I wouldn’t recommend that. When I visited in the fall of 2015 the dirt road leading to it started out fine, if somewhat sandy, but later it turned really sandy and also had some nasty whoops that a passenger car can’t navigate – and that was before the turnoff to the really bad part of the road!
There is a lot of off-road recreation in this area and the dirt bike and buggie users apparently created these features for their own enjoyment. While the place is often hopping with offroaders on holiday weekends it can also be dead quiet on less popular weekends so you may not quickly find help if you bog down.
As for the site itself – don’t add your own vandalism to it. Enjoy and respect the designs. They had meaning to the people who made them. Respect that, appreciate them, and leave them as you found them.