Donner Summit Petroglyphs (Nevada County, California)

High above Donner Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a small petroglyph site was created by the ancient residents of this area on granite slabs facing upward. Over the years, I've driven past this site a number of time, but never bothered to stop and explore. That was a mistake on my part, which I decided to correct this evening after work. 

The drive from my office to Donner Summit is only about forty-five minutes and gave me a chance to catch up on a couple of podcasts. Not to mention, the drive across Donner Summit is always a beautiful way to spend a sunset.  In the mid-1800's, this area was the site of legendary drama, as the Donner Party was trapped by record snow falls on their way to California and driven to cannibalism to survive.

Some centuries before that story played out, the original inhabitants of the area decided to carve marks into the granite carpet of this hillside. Exploring their artwork, I note the difficulty in seeing them on this type of stone. Rock art, specifically petroglyphs, are most often carved into the dark desert varnish that covers some stone, but here, the carvings are simply cut into the granite surface. Perhaps under different light, the glyphs would be easier to see, but after a little searching, I'm able to locate several of them.

Spirals, waves, and other figures adorn the large granite panel. A constructed stone marker erected by modern man, provides some basic insight into the purpose of the marks, but as with all ancient rock art, the purpose has been lost to the centuries. Far below, the blue waters of Donner Lake provide relief from the warm summer days that will be upon us soon. Maybe, the artists took refuge from the heat there as well. 

After looking around just a bit more and feeling satisfaction that I've located at least the easiest of the rock art to pick out against the white granite slabs, I decide to return home. Though a pretty basic petroglyph site, I'm glad I made the trip over to visit.