Just a few miles outside Las Vegas, you’ll find Red Rock Canyon and it’s 13-mile scenic drive. I went on a recent tour in March where I learned more at the Visitor’s Center about the area, it’s wildlife, rock formations and former inhabitants.
If you’ve looked at the photos I posted, you’re probably wondering why the rocks are red, orange and tan? Well according to their website, “more than 600 million years ago, the land that would become Red Rock Canyon was the bottom of a deep ocean basin. Over time, changing land and sea levels resulted in the deposition of both ocean and continental sediments that became the gray limestone found at Red Rock Canyon today. About 180 million years ago, a giant sand dune field formed over what became the Western United States. Powerful winds shifted the sands back and forth, forming angled lines in the sand. Over time, the sheer weight of the layers of sand compressed into stone. This formation, locally known as Aztec Sandstone, is quite hard and forms the cliffs of Red Rock Canyon. Exposure to the elements caused some of the iron-bearing minerals to oxidize. This oxidizing process can be more easily thought of as a “rusting of the sand,” which resulted in red, orange and tan colored rocks.”
I really liked our tour bus driver as he parked the bus and took us on a short hike into the area. He pointed out lots of native plants, natural springs, and pictographs of handprints on the rock walls. That was really cool. I wished I had taken a photo as a keepsake and to share with you.
Their website gives a quick refresher on the two types of rock art. “Rock art comes in two varieties, petroglyphs and pictographs. The difference between the two types is the manner in which they were made. Petroglyphs were pecked into the surface of the rock. Pictographs were painted on the rock. In Red Rock Canyon, a coating of dark "desert varnish" on lighter sandstone provides the perfect medium for petroglyphs, which are the most common of the two types of rock art found at Red Rock Canyon. If you want to discover some petroglyphs firsthand, the Red Spring area has a wide variety of different styles on the cliff face's and fallen boulders.”
Another interesting aspect I would have missed if not pointed out by the very knowledgeable driver, were the roasting pits. The best description about them is given again from their website, “roasting pits are perhaps the most common cultural resource found in Red Rock Canyon. Roasting pits are circular areas of fire-cracked and whitened limestone. They can vary in size from ground level circles five to six feet in diameter, to huge piles several yards high with large sloping sides. Roasting pits were used to roast various foods such as agave hearts, desert tortoise and possibly other plant and animal foods. The limestone was gathered, heated by the fire and then used to cook the foods. After prolonged heating, the limestone was raked aside and replaced with new rocks. This process caused the circular ring of rocks to grow with use. There are several
roasting pits at the Willow Spring picnic area, including one of the largest, in southern Nevada.”
I wish I would have had more time to spend exploring the canyon and it’s many trails. If ever I’m in Vegas again, you can bet I’ll be visiting this place again.
Check out their website for more information.
http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/blm_special_areas/red_rock_nca.html
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