Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park

Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park
Location within the state of Michigan
Location	Lower Peninsula, Sanilac County, Michigan USA
Nearest city	Cass City, Michigan
Coordinates	43°39′28″N 83°01′07″W / 43.65777°N 83.018611°W / 43.65777; -83.018611Coordinates: 43°39′28″N 83°01′07″W / 43.65777°N 83.018611°W / 43.65777; -83.018611
Area	240 acres (97 ha)
Governing body	Michigan Department of Natural Resources
http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/details.aspx?id=490&type=SPRK
Sanilac Petroglyphs
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP Reference #	71001024^[1]
Added to NRHP	January 25, 1971

Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park is a state park in Michigan containing Michigan's only known rock carvings attributable to Native American Indians. The park consists of 240 acres (0.97 km²) in Greenleaf Township, Sanilac County, in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

The carvings, known as petroglyphs, were discovered by residents after a fire swept through the area in 1881 and revealed rocks bearing the designs. Because they are made in relatively friable sandstone, geologists have been able to determine that the carvings were made 300 to 1,000 years ago, dating back to the Late Woodland Period. There is concern that without preservation, the carvings may be worn further away and lost.^[2]

The Petroglyphs

Detail of a carved archer-like figure at the Sanilac Petroglyphs site in Sanilac County, Michigan

The petroglyphs include depictions of swirls, lines, handprints, flying birds and bow-wielding men, likely carved over many years by unknown peoples passing by the site while traveling along the nearby Cass River on a 1,000-square-foot (93 m²) sandstone rock in Sanilac County, Michigan between 300 and 1,000 years ago. The petroglyphs are the only known such carvings in the state of Michigan.

Conservation and Vandalism

Detail of gaps in the surface of the stone at the Sanilac Petroglyph site in Sanilac County, Michigan. The gaps existed when the site was surveyed in the 1920s, indicating that carvings had been removed from the stone prior to that time period.

The sandstone slab in which the petroglyphs were carved is a soft stone that allowed Native Americans to cut it easily. But that softness has proven problematic as it has allowed generations of visitors to damage the slab with graffiti. Graffiti combined with natural weathering has made the actual petrogyphs difficult for visitors to see. The state has made a series of improvements to the site to protect the slab, including a wooden pavilion erected in the mid-1990s and a chain-link fence surrounding the petroglyph site.

References

↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ "Michigan's American Indian carvings in danger of fading away", The Detroit News, 11 Jun 2005.

External links

Media related to Sanilac Petroglyphs at Wikimedia Commons
Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park Pure Michigan, Official Travel and Tourism Site, Michigan Economic Development Corporation

Protected areas of Michigan

See also: Important Bird Areas of Michigan

National

Parks	Isle Royale Keweenaw (Historical) River Raisin (Battlefield)

Lakeshores	Pictured Rocks Sleeping Bear Dunes

Landmarks	Black Spruce Bog Natural Area Dead Stream Swamp Dukes Research Natural Area Grand Mere Lakes Haven Hill State Natural Area Newton Woods Porcupine Mountains Roscommon Virgin Pine Stand Strangmoor Bog Tobico Marsh Toumey Woods Warren Woods State Park

Forests	Hiawatha Huron-Manistee Ottawa

Wildlife Refuges	Detroit River Harbor Island Huron Kirtlands Warbler Wildlife Management Area Michigan Islands Michigan Wetland Management District Seney Shiawassee

Other	Grand Island National Recreation Area Father Marquette National Memorial Saint Helena Island National Scenic Area Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

State

Parks	Algonac Aloha Baraga Belle Isle Bewabic Brimley Burt Lake Cambridge Junction Cheboygan Clear Lake Coldwater Lake Craig Lake Dodge #4 Duck Lake Fayette Fisherman's Island Fort Michilimackinac Fort Wilkins Grand Haven Grand Mere Harrisville Hart-Montague Trail Hartwick Pines Hayes Mill Creek P.H. Hoeft P.J. Hoffmaster Holland Indian Lake Interlochen Kal-Haven Trail Lake Gogebic Lakelands Trail Lakeport Leelanau Ludington Mackinac Island Maybury F.J. McLain Mears Meridian-Baseline Mitchell Muskallonge Lake Muskegon Negwegon Newaygo North Higgins Lake Onaway Orchard Beach Otsego Lake Palms Book Petoskey Porcupine Mountains Port Crescent Rockport Sanilac Petroglyphs Saugatuck Dunes Seven Lakes Silver Lake Sleeper Sleepy Hollow South Higgins Lake Sterling Straits Tahquamenon Falls Tawas Point Thompson's Harbor Traverse City Twin Lakes Van Buren Van Buren Trail Van Riper Warren Dunes Warren Woods Wells White Pine Trail Wilderness William G. Milliken Wilson Young

Recreation Areas	Bald Mountain Bass River Bay City Brighton Fort Custer Highland Holly Ionia Island Lake Lake Hudson Menominee River Metamora-Hadley Ortonville Pinckney Pontiac Lake Proud Lake Rifle River Waterloo Wetzel Yankee Springs

Forests	Au Sable Copper Country Escanaba River Lake Superior Mackinaw Pere Marquette

Underwater Preserves	Alger De Tour Passage Grand Traverse Bay Keweenau Manitou Passage Marquette Sanilac Shores Southwest Michigan Straits of Mackinac Thumb Area Whitefish Point

Other (inc. game areas)	Agate Falls Scenic Site Allegan State Game Area Bond Falls Scenic Site Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Site Michigan Islands Wilderness Area Pointe Mouillee State Game Area Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center Sturgeon Point Scenic Site Wagner Falls Scenic Site

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

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