Eastern Utah’s Carbon and Duchesne counties are home to Nine Mile Canyon, a segment of a larger, 75 mile canyon. Nine Mile Canyon draws thousands of visitors from around the world each year, many of whom come to see the 60+ accessible rock art sites that date back to 950 A.D.
Archaeologically, Nine Mile Canyon is the most concentrated rock art site in the Americas. Though there are 65+ sites open to the public, roughly 1,000 sites have been discovered; the actual total number of sites could outweigh this amount tenfold. These sites range from pictographs and petroglyphs, to remnants of larger structures and shelters.
Ute, Puebloan peoples, Hopi, and North Cheyenne peoples regard Nine Mile Canyon as having historical and sacred importance. This was threatened by an effort to drill for natural gas in the canyon over the span of 2004 to 2019. This case shows how non-Native groups can help preserve sites meaningful to Native Americans.
