NEW PICTOGRAPHS DISCOVERED:  What the discovery of new 
pictographs at Hueco Tanks State Parks and Historic 
site… means for visitors… ahead on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

For thousands of years, people have trekked to the rock 
hills in far west Texas where they found rainwater pooled in 
natural basins called huecos.

Today, visitors to Hueco Tanks SP & HS enjoy the rock hills 
for bouldering, which is a form of rock climbing, and the 
rock paintings, or pictographs, left by those ancient people. 

After a year-long survey using D-stretch image 
enhancement technology, researchers discovered previously 
unknown pictographs in 29 locations. These areas will 
remain closed to recreational activities to protect the fragile 
artwork from potential impacts.

A list of closed climbs has been provided to the guides and 
to visitors on the North Mountain.

The majority of the pictographs are in the Jornada style, 
named for the prehistoric Jornada Mogollon culture of 
western Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Mexico. 

These Native Americans were the first farmers in the 
region, and it’s believed they created the paintings about 
550 to 1,000 years ago for use in prayers for rain. Some 
things never change.

Hueco Tanks is a significant cultural resource in the El Paso 
area that reflects at least 10,000 years of history. Find more 
information about the site at texasstateparks.org.

That's our show for today… Funding provided in part by 
Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram 

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.



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