Columbia River Petroglyphs

Petroglyph, Gynko Petrified Forest

This image was taken from below the Gynko Petrified Forest Visitor’s Center near Vantage Washington.  Seeing these brought back many happy memories of my youth.

As a young Boy Scout, I can remember hiking along the Columbia River north of Vantage, Washington.  Huge basalt cliffs rose above the free flowing river.  We could climb up along the rocks and see these funny drawings made by ancient Indians.  We did not think much of it back then.  When the Wanapum Dam was built, the backwaters flooded the area where many of these artifacts were located.  Luckily, someone had the foresight to carefully remove these petroglyphs before the water covered them up.  Today several of the saved petroglyphs are displayed below the Gynko Petrified Forest Visitors Center.

Note:  Notice the initials and heart above the man and woman.  Why would anyone deface such a piece of our history????

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