For years I’ve seen images and read about the amazing rock art at Little Petroglyph Canyon.  I typically like to explore by myself, going off-the-beaten-path.  So, I put off going to see this incredible place, because the only way of viewing the rock art is to be a part of a guided tour.  But, I was wrong, the tour is very limited and the rock art is spectacular.  The reason for the guided tour is because the canyon is located on an active military base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.  The military base covers 1.1M acres across two ranges (larger than the state of Rhode Island).  Tours are very limited and only available by contacting the Maturango Museum in Ridgecrest, CA.  You’ll have to submit various paperwork to get background clearance pre-approved from the US Navy.

The canyon is located on a plateau, about 5,000′ in the Coso Range.  It’s about a 45-minute drive from the base entrance.  Located along the basalt rock walls are over 20,000 documented petroglyphs.  This was considered a very sacred and significant location.  Archaeologists have found artifacts of ancient people traveling from as afar as Utah, Mexico and the Pacific Coast to come to this location.  Why?  No one knows for sure, everything is an educated guess.  There are some very unique and impressive patterned-body anthropomorphs (PBAs) throughout the canyon.  A few of these remind me of the PBAs of Pahranagat Man in far-away Lincoln County, NV.   Since the location is deep within a restricted military base, most of the petroglyphs are in pristine condition and void of damage & graffiti.  Apparently there are about 8 other similar canyons within the military base, with just as many petroglyphs (I was told over 100,000 petroglyphs combined in these 8 canyons).  Unfortunately, the public is not allowed access to them, and may never be allowed to access them.  Too bad, I’d love to see them.

Please click the images below: