White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Phoenix
White Tank Mountain Park, in the west Valley community of Waddell, is a great place to take the kids. Hike, bike and horseback ride on more than 25 miles (40 km) of shared use trails. Test your mountain biking skills on 10 miles (16 km) of competitive track or your backcountry competence on an overnight pack trip. Take a leisurely hay wagon ride or horseback trail ride. Gaze at an 80-foot (24 meter) waterfall and observe Hohokam Indian rock art (petroglyphs) along Waterfall Trail. Circle through a Hohokam village site on the Black Rock Trail and play archaeologist for the day. Take part in a ranger led program and, in addition to discovering the meaning behind the name, introduce kids to the flora, fauna and history of this 30,000-acre Maricopa County Park.
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Types of Rock Art
Petroglyphs, man-made carvings on rock or stone, may be the most common form of rock art but it isn't the only. Pictographs, man-made drawings and paintings on rock and caves, were made prehistoric peoples around the world. Petroforms, the placement of rocks and boulders to form patterns and shapes, were made by many different peoples too. Inukshuk, rock piles or single standing rocks made by the Inuit, are found only in the Arctic. Geoglyphs, also called intaglios, are giant etchings in the ground. While modern day artists carve letters and words in hills just about everywhere, geoglyphs were once made by prehistoric peoples in harsh deserts only. |
