<< Our Photo Pages >> Columbia Hills State Park - Rock Art in United States in The West
Submitted by Andy B on Thursday, 08 October 2015 Page Views: 5277
Rock ArtSite Name: Columbia Hills State Park Alternative Name: She Who Watches, Horsethief Lake, Horsethief Butte, Tsagaglalal, Tamani Pesh-wa, Tamani Pesh-waCountry: United States
NOTE: This site is 51.658 km away from the location you searched for.
Region: The West Type: Rock Art
Nearest Town: Portland Nearest Village: The Dalles
Latitude: 45.641290N Longitude: 121.1049W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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I have visited· I would like to visit
jeffrep visited on 11th Oct 2019 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 3
bat400 visited on 1st May 2013 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4 There were no tours to the "She Who Watches" figure on the day we were visiting, but we were able to see many other examples of rock art. Well worth a visit.
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.5 Ambience: 4.5 Access: 3.5
The story says that coyote, known as a trickster by Native Americans, had attempted to betray the leader of a local tribe. After a wrestling match, the wily animal tossed the female chief onto the cliff where she turned to stone.
To this day, the tribe's guardian watches over her children and is known as Tsagiglala, or She Who Watches. Portland artist Lillian Pitt has many pieces that carry the image of She Who Watches.
She Who Watches can be viewed during the park's twice-weekly tours, conducted seasonally. One of the largest known pieces of rock art in North America, the 31/2-by-3-foot painting was drawn about 300 years ago. To preserve the treasure, access to the site has been limited to guided tours since 1993.
Ranger-led pictograph tours at Horsethief Lake, located across the Columbia River from The Dalles, are offered Fridays and Saturdays at 10 a.m., April to October. The tours are free and reservations are required by calling 509-773-5007. Space is limited and tours fill fast, so reserve well in advance, two or three weeks minimum.
If you can't book a She Who Watches Tour, the park maintains a display of Native American art that was recovered from nearby cliffs before they were flooded after construction of The Dalles Dam. This display is open during the park's normal operating schedule.
With thanks to Terry Richard at Oregon Live
Both Tamani Pesh-wa (Written on Rock) Canyon and the current "Tamani Pesh-wa" Trail in the Columbia Hills State Park are located in Klickitat County Washington. Information panels at the rock art trail in the park show the general original locations (now underwater) of several concentrations of rock art.
In 1956 nearly 100 examples were removed by quarrying out sections of the basalt. The removal was done by the Army Corp of Engineers, and there is little documentation of who selected the examples to be salvaged.
The rock art panels were not easily accessible for 30 years. They were moved to their present location along a modern trail in the 1990's at the request of Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Nez Perce Tribe.
The modern park is also the location of Wishram Indian Village Site and Wakemap Mound. The location given is the start of the rock art trail. This portion is paved, disability accessible, and immediately adjacent to a parking area. The secured trail leading to the Tsagiglala figure is an unpaved footpath.
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