Petroglyph Canyon Trail

In 2014, during a trip to Las Vegas for the International Virtual Reality Photographer Association (IVRPA) photography conference, a few other photographers and I took a trip out to the Valley of Fire to capture some 360-degree panoramic images of the landscape. One of the places we stopped at was the Petroglyph Canyon Trail. Below you can see some of the 360-degree panoramic images I captured. In one of the images, you can even see some of the petroglyphs. 

Click here to view it in fullscreen.

Equipment used to capture the 360-degree panoramic images:

• Canon EOS 5D MKII
• Sigma 8mm Fisheye

About the Trail

Located in the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas is the Petroglyph Canyon Trail. The trail follows a shallow ravine through the western section of the mountains to one of Nevada’s most important archaeological sites. This site is littered with over 300 separate rock art panels and around 1,700 individual designs. The majority of the petroglyphs are concentrated along a 500 foot stretch of the canyon on both sides. They cover several thousand years of history, from the Archaic peoples to 19th-century settlers.

The petroglyphs are etched into the weathered patina of the dark volcanic boulders scattered all over the mountains, and many of the designs are large, clear, and easy to locate. The figures mark an ancient cross-country route across the mountains – up the canyon, over a divide, and down another drainage to the south. However, the importance of this particular location is unclear. Rock art has many designs, including anthropomorphic figures, animals, hunt scenes, and geometric shapes.