Back in early 2022, I met up with a fellow rock art enthusiast to do a little scouting expedition in the backcountry of Joshua Tree National Park. There is a small pictograph and petroglyph site there that he knew about, and we wanted to see if there were any more in the area.
After a bit of a walk in a narrow wash, we stopped at a pictograph site at what we are calling "Quartz Butte." It is a rock shelter with a couple of sunburst pictographs and a few other markings that have been lost to time.
Enhanced B&W images of the pictographs in the rock shelter
This is an interesting area. Just across the "street" from the rock shelter is a pegmatitic dyke outcrop that has a massive amount of quartz. That is unusual for the ordinarily uniform granite boulders of Joshua Tree.
Top Left: Rabbit Rock. Top Right: Quartz Butte in the distance. Bottom Left: Pegmatitic quartz outcrop. Bottom Right: Hiking up the canyon.
No doubt, Native Americans who traveled through here collected the white quartz.
Just around the corner is a rainbow petroglyph high up on the side of a large boulder. It is difficult to see. You could walk right by it and not notice it. I can't think of another rainbow petroglyph in Joshua Tree. It's a great find!
Please remember to follow Rock Art Etiquette when visiting these sites.
Rainbow petroglyph
After these sites, we hiked over to a larger wash and explored more granite outcrops for rock art or any habitation sites but came up empty, except for what looked like a metate in some junipers near the end of our hike. It was another great day in Joshua Tree.
Also, check out my friend's excellent write-up of his trip out there at Spare Parts and Pics.
No directions to this site. Please enjoy my photos below.
