Petroglyphs Archives - Wild About Utah

September 8, 2025September 13, 2025

Solar Calendars

This [observatory in Chacho Canyon, NM], is constructed of three large stone slabs [.https://wildaboututah.org/wp-content/uploads/sdagger_s1.jpg] wedged upright with smaller stones. On the day of the summer solstice, a dagger of light cast by the rising sun bisects a spiral carved into the rock behind the stones. On the winter solstice, two daggers of light frame the spiral. https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/suntime/images/sdagger2_s.jpg — This [observatory in Chacho Canyon, NM], is constructed of three large stone slabs wedged upright with smaller stones. On the day of the summer solstice, a dagger of light cast by the rising sun bisects a spiral carved into the rock behind the stones. On the winter solstice, two daggers of light frame the spiral.
Courtesy NASA Solar Science
https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/suntime/talk1.stm

High on a remote butte on the Colorado Plateau, two spirals were etched into the rock centuries ago by Ancestral Puebloans. The petroglyphs are tucked discreetly behind three sandstone slabs that lean against the bedrock wall. The play of light that reaches through the gaps in the slabs bisect the large spiral on summer solstice near noon. On winter solstice, two ‘daggers’ of light bracket the large spiral perfectly. The smaller spiral is bisected with another shaft of light on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. This is not accidental.

Indigenous people in the far reaches of the planet, constructed monuments with intention that mark the position of the sun on the solstices and equinoxes—the pyramids of Egypt, the moai on Rapa Nui (the most isolated island on earth), the temples of Chichén Itzá, Stonehenge, and numerous others.

These solar calendars where created thousands of years ago, before airplanes, satellites, space shuttles, and smartphones. They were likely constructed without any knowledge that other people in other parts of the world were doing the same. Each of these monuments are distinctive in their approach, a testament to both human curiosity and creativity.

Solar Calendar and Sundial Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell — Solar Calendar and Sundial
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

**Mount Logan Discovery Solar Calendar**

Solar Calendar – How it Works
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Solar Calendar Design
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Observing From the Solar Calendar
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Completed Solar Calendar
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Solar Calendar Near Solstice
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Solar Calendar Layout in the Snow
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Observations: The Shadow Grew
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

**Mount Logan Discovery Human [Analemmatic] Sundial**

Human Sundial
Pre-Installation
Month Stone Layout
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Students Install the Solar Sundial Month Blocks
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Solar Calendar - How it Works Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell — Solar Calendar and Sundial
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

**Mount Logan Discovery Solar Calendar**

Solar Calendar – How it Works
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Solar Calendar Design
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Observing From the Solar Calendar
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Completed Solar Calendar
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Solar Calendar Near Solstice
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Solar Calendar Layout in the Snow
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Observations: The Shadow Grew
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

**Mount Logan Discovery Human [Analemmatic] Sundial**

Human Sundial
Pre-Installation
Month Stone Layout
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

Students Install the Solar Sundial Month Blocks
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell

When I started teaching 6th grade science at Mount Logan Middle School (in Logan, Utah), in 2003, state curriculum standards required me to teach why we have seasons, why we have night and day, and the basics of the solar system. The science textbook would put insomniacs to sleep. I struggled to figure out how to teach these concepts in ways that would captivate my students’ attention and allow them the chance to construct knowledge through project-based learning.

I was explaining my fascination with ancient solar calendars to my sixth graders in class one day and in the moment I said, “Hey, we should build a solar calendar at our school.” My students cheered a loud “Yeah!” and a new project was born.

I did some research, wrote and received a $500 grant from the Logan Schools Foundation for materials, ruffled a few feathers, and set to work with a simple plan that involved my 6th graders at every step. We cemented a metal pole in the ground on the edge of the soccer field, decorated with student art representing the four seasons. We surrounded the pole with a circular pattern of paver stones, enlisted the sand blasting services of a local headstone company, and then we started marking the shadow of the tip of the pole throughout the year. We had no idea how it would turn out.

What I thought would be a year-long project became a five year project. The shadows cast by the pole were not always easy to observe with storms and cloud cover. Cache Valley inversions—that trap fog and smog in the valley—made marking winter solstice shadow lines especially illusive.

We would mark the tip of the shadow throughout the day and then connect the dots to trace and identify the patterns. On the spring equinox a curious thing happened—we discovered the shadow line makes a perfectly straight line that runs exactly west to east. The same is true for the autumnal equinox. We did some research and confirmed our findings. This is something you can try anywhere. This year the autumnal equinox occurs September 22nd. Mark the tip of the shadow of any pole or post throughout the day on fairly level ground in your yard—an hour or two apart if you want, but the intervals don’t really matter. Then connect the dots and see what happens.

The solar calendar at Mount Logan Middle School marks the time of year and is our evidence that the earth’s axis is tilted.

We added an interactive sundial, with a human gnomon. When you stand on the correct month stone, your shadow falls on the time of day. The human sundial is our evidence that the earth spins on its’ axis.

Outside of school hours, you can find and interact with the human sundial and solar calendar on the soccer field at Mount Logan Middle School, located north of the sand volleyball court. Even though I no longer work there, I visit a couple of times each year. I take my weed eater, a shovel, and a blower and clean up the paver stones that mark the shadow lines of the solstices and equinoxes. I am frequently there alone in the evenings when I do this. While I work, I wonder about the hands that carved those spirals in the Cliff House Sandstone behind the slabs of rock in the New Mexican desert. I always set down my tools for a few minutes and watch with amazement as the shadow tracks along the pathways my sixth graders marked two decades ago.

I am Eric Newell, and I am wild about Utah and equinoxes and solstices.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy NASA Solar Science and Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer and author
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Anderson, Howe, Wakeman
Text: Eric Newell, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University
Additional Reading: Eric Newell & Lyle Bingham

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah Pieces by Eric Newell

http://MountLoganDiscovery.org/ (Hint: Select Projects on the left to find links to the Solar Calendar and Human Sundial pages)
Mount Logan Middle School Solar Calendar and Human Sundial Webpages (Hint: Select Sundial or Solar Calendar below the image.)
Mount Logan Discovery Solar Calendar
Mount Logan Discovery Human Sundial

Archeoastronomy in Stone, National Park Service,
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/archeoastronomy-in-stone.htm

Ancestral Puebloan Sun Calendars
https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm%3Fid%3D4A2A3F5E-7710-4A87-BC20-A8E833CBCE17

Schaefer, Bradley E., Stamm, James, A Case Study of the Picture Rocks Sun Dagger, Pluss a Review of the Intentionality of Sun Daggers, https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2008/PictureRocks_Sundagger_JAHH.pdf

Friday Finishers: Logan landmark, The Herald Journal (HJNews), Jun 28, 2013,
https://www.hjnews.com/allaccess/friday-finishers-logan-landmark/article_7c9554ee-df82-11e2-b142-001a4bcf887a.html

Sundial Registry, Logan, UT Number 804, North American Sundial Society, https://sundials.org/index.php/component/sundials/onedial/804

Making an Analemmatic Sundial, North American Sundial Society, September 22, 2019, https://sundials.org/teachers-corner/sundial-construction/299-making-an-analemmatic-sundial.html

September 16, 2019September 18, 2019

Rock Art

What did we do before radio—before cell phones, television, newspapers, and books? How did we tell stories, share news, warn of danger, or otherwise communicate with anyone beyond those around us? What did we do with words and thoughts when there was no one with whom we could immediately share them? The wilds of southern Utah can provide one answer—if you’re willing to look.

Rock Art: The Great Gallery Pictograph Panel in Horseshoe Canyon, UT; Courtesy & Copyright Josh Boling, Photographer — The Great Gallery Pictograph Panel in Horseshoe Canyon, UT; Courtesy & Copyright Josh Boling, Photographer

As far as pictograph panels go, Horseshoe Canyon’s Great Gallery isn’t terribly difficult to find. It’s also one of the most spectacular and well preserved panels of rock art in the state. Naturally, then, it’s fairly well-known and has seen an increasing number of visitors in recent years despite its remote location. Incidentally, I happened upon it by accident—had no idea it was there and would have passed right by if not for a chance glimpse of a ghostly set of eyes peering at me through cottonwood boughs. The Great Gallery’s ‘Barrier Canyon’ style of rock art is characterized by haunting silhouettes of human, semi-human, and animal figures painted on and pecked into the canyon walls of the Colorado Plateau. They are surviving remnants of an unnamed and unknown culture of hunter/gatherers that roamed Utah’s canyon country between 7,000 and 1,500 years ago—pieces of information whose meaning is lost to us now. We may never know why these people painted the “Holy Ghost”—the 8-foot-tall figure with empty, gaping eyes that startled me out of my hiking stupor.

Newer panels of rock art produced by more familiar cultures are a bit more discernible, though. The nameless wanderers who produced the Barrier Canyon style were followed first by the Fremont whose artwork appeared around 1,500 and 2,000 years ago and then by the Pueblo peoples we now refer to as the Anasazi. Both the Fremont and Pueblo styles portray relatively clearer themes—stories of hunting parties and the game to which they gave chase; spirals and directional glyphs which indicate water; people, animals, and the elements whose interactions are now carved into the canyon walls for us to find, decipher, and celebrate.

The author, adventurer, and local rock art expert Jonathan Bailey refers to rock art as “a vision of a…cultural landscape”—a story continuously told by people who lived close to the land long after they’ve passed. Some stories are secret, hidden away in forgotten crevices of the Colorado Plateau, meant only for those who already knew their meaning. Others are more democratic: a water glyph is meant for me as much as the hunter/gatherer that pecked it into the sandstone. It beckons every traveler to come and sate his or her thirst.
Einstein said time is relative. Looking up at the Holy Ghost, the artistic center of the Great Gallery, I felt I could reach through time and connect with the people who wandered this landscape before me—to see it and experience it the way they did.

I’m Josh Boling, and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy & Copyright Josh Boling
Sound: Courtesy & Copyright Kevin Colver
Text: Josh Boling, 2018

Sources & Additional Reading

Mozdy, Michael, Bold Figures, Blurred History: The Great Gallery in Horseshoe Canyon, Natural History Museum of Utah, October 2, 2016, https://nhmu.utah.edu/blog/2016/09/29/bold-figures-blurred-history-great-gallery-horseshoe-canyon

Nine Mile Canyon, Natural History Museum of Utah, https://nhmu.utah.edu/places/nine-mile-canyon

March 5, 2018July 23, 2025

State Symbols

Most people could probably name the state bird or the state tree, but what about the state gem? The state grass? State fruit? Do you know why they are important to Utah? Here are just a few of Utah’s State Symbols that you might not have known.

Topaz was named Utah’s state gem in 1969 because of its abundance on Topaz or Thomas Mountain in Juab County. In this area, perfect topaz crystals can be found and collected. This semiprecious gem can also be found in Beaver and Toole counties. Topaz can be found in a variety of colors, but in the Thomas Range it is known for its sherry hue. When exposed to sunlight, amber colored topaz will often become clear. Topaz collecting is free and open to the public in most areas and could be a great way to get to know Utah a little bit better.

Utah’s state grass was selected in 1990 to be Indian Ricegrass. As you might suspect, indian ricegrass was given its name because of the significance in Native American life. This tough bunchgrass was a common food source and was absolutely crucial to survival when the corn crop failed.

Indian Ricegrass Courtesy US National Park Service — Indian Ricegrass
Courtesy US National Park Service

It can be found in wet and dry areas throughout the West. Long ago this grass was important for Native Americans; now it is important in fighting wind erosion and grazing cattle.

The cherry did not become the state fruit until 1997 when a group of second graders did their research and petitioned for the fruit to be recognized. Cherry was discovered to be the most economically beneficial fruit for Utah when compared to other fruits like peaches and apples. Both sweet and tart cherries are grown commercially in Utah. Utah is the only state ranked in the top five cherry producing states for both types of cherries.

US Cherries for sale in Korea Courtesy USDA — US Cherries for sale in Korea
Courtesy USDA

The cherry is native to Asia, but flourishes in Utah’s environment.

The state insect might be a little easier to guess than the state grass and state fruit. Utah is known as the beehive state, so naturally our state insect is the honeybee. When settlers first arrived in Utah they called it Deseret which means honeybee. Some native bees are listed as endangered species, but many Utahns have become “backyard beekeepers” to help these bees survive.

Honeybee Extracts Nectar Courtesy NASA ClimateKids — Honeybee Extracts Nectar
Courtesy NASA ClimateKids

Bees might seem insignificant, but are actually the unsung heroes of the world’s food supply. Growing bee friendly plants or becoming a beekeeper yourself are great ways to help Utah’s honeybee thrive.

No matter where in the state of Utah you are, you can learn more about these plants, animals, and rocks and see them in action. As a Chinese proverb says, “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.”

This is Aspen Flake and I am Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy US NPS and US FWS
Audio: Courtesy and Copyright Kevin Colver
Text & Voice: Aspen Flake
Additional Reading & Listening

State Symbols, as found on OnlineLibrary.Utah.gov, https://onlinelibrary.utah.gov/research/utah_symbols/

Utah as found in StateSymbolsUSA.org: https://statesymbolsusa.org/states/united-states/utah

Gorman, Steve, U.S. Lists a Bumble Bee Species as Endangered for First Time, Scientific American, A Division of Nature America, Inc., Jan 11, 2017,
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-lists-a-bumble-bee-species-as-endangered-for-first-time/

Hrala, Josh, 7 Bee Species Have Been Added to The US Endangered Species List, ScienceAlert.com, 3 OCT 2016, https://www.sciencealert.com/seven-species-of-bees-have-been-added-to-the-endangered-species-list

Insects: Bees in trouble and agriculture decline, Endangered Species International, Inc. https://www.endangeredspeciesinternational.org/insects6.html

Ingraham, Christopher, Believe it or not, the bees are doing just fine, Washington Post, October 10, 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/10/believe-it-or-not-the-bees-are-doing-just-fine/

March 7, 2016August 23, 2023

Utah’s Stunning Landscapes and America’s Celebration

Utah is arguably blessed with the most stunning landscapes on the planet. Many have been preserved for posterity in our National Parks & Monuments. This is the BIG YEAR- the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service! I’ve sampled and worked in many of them- from Alaska to Florida, from S. California to New England. As many would suggest- our National Parks are one of America’s greatest achievements which has gone global, now found on all continents except Antarctica (or am I missing one!).

Much of my work in the Parks has been assisting with the launch of the “Climate Friendly Parks” program which began in 2006. The program provides parks with the tools and resources to address climate change and ensure the most sustainable operations across the agency.

National parks, because of their location and unique, protected resources, are places where the effects of climate change are particularly noticeable. With the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916, responsibility was given to the Service to preserve and protect the significant resources within parks for the enjoyment of current and future generations. Today, as knowledge about climate change and its effects increase and potential impacts are better understood, the need to practice good stewardship and develop forward thinking resource management plans is more relevant than ever.

I began in Zion N.P. then moved on to several others including Mt. Rainier, Olympic, Rocky Mountain, and Denali in Alaska. Zion N.P. will always be at or near the top for its amazing landforms, shear grandeur, hidden canyons, and rich diversity of life- the highest in Utah.
It was here that I first met the ringtail cat and Mexican Spotted Owl- two illusive, iconic critters. Both appeared in broad daylight in Hidden Canyon on the west face of the Great White Throne. There is no season less than spectacular here. Perhaps the most dramatic accompanies the seasonal monster thunder storms amplified by massive sandstone cliffs which begin spouting 2000 foot blood red waterfalls. It’s all too surreal, too ethereal for one’s senses to fully grasp.
And yet another proposed stunning Utah landscape containing thousands of ancient ruins is receiving wide citizen support including many native tribes, that being the Bears Ears NationalMonument.

This area of South Eastern Utah offers a unique opportunity to include the “real Americans”, the people that have over 10,000 years of Utah history, who continue to honor and worship this ancient landscape of their ancestors. These tribes have been invited to participate in its planning and management to assure their rituals and subsistence ways may continue, and that its pristine nature would be preserved in perpetuity.

Designation of the Bears Ears NM would be a marvelous celebratory note for this epic year to honor America’s grandest idea!

This is Jack Greene for Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Image: Courtesy National Park Service for Find Your Park
Courtesy BearsEarsCoalition.org for the map of the proposed Bears Ears National Monument.
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon Society & USU Office of Sustainability
Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/

Utah National Parks, Google Search, Utah’s National Parks

Bears Ears National Monument, Google Search, Bears Ears National Monument

Secretaries Jewell, Vilsack Applaud President’s Designation of New National Monuments in Utah and Nevada, Dec 28, 2016, https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretaries-jewell-vilsack-applaud-presidents-designation-new-national-monuments-utah

Statement by the President on the Designation of Bears Ears National Monument and Gold Butte National Monument, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Dec 28, 2016, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/28/statement-president-designation-bears-ears-national-monument-and-gold

FACT SHEET: President Obama to Designate New National Monuments Protecting Significant Natural and Cultural Resources in Utah and Nevada, The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Dec 28, 2016, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/12/28/fact-sheet-president-obama-designate-new-national-monuments-protecting

Gayle, Riana, Planning For The Future, A Bioregional Approach, UPR Utah Public Radio, Nov 19, 2018, https://www.upr.org/post/planning-future-bioregional-approach