Newspaper Rock – Bears Ears National Monument
Newspaper Rock preserves one of the most remarkable concentrations of petroglyphs in the American Southwest and reflects the long cultural history of the Bears Ears region. Carved into a large sandstone surface, the panel contains figures and symbols created over many generations by Indigenous peoples who traveled through and lived within the surrounding landscape. The site illustrates how rock art served as both expression and record within a broader cultural environment shaped by mesas, canyons, and seasonal movement.
The panel includes human forms, animals, abstract symbols, and other carved images layered across time. These petroglyphs reflect continuity of cultural presence and demonstrate the importance of this landscape as a place of travel, communication, and memory. The sandstone setting also reveals the geological processes that created stable rock surfaces suitable for carving and long-term preservation.
Visitors encounter a site that combines visual immediacy with deep historical significance. The concentration of imagery encourages careful observation and highlights the importance of respecting cultural landscapes that remain meaningful to Indigenous communities today. Newspaper Rock provides a compelling example of how cultural expression is preserved within the broader geology of the Colorado Plateau.
