{"id":5209,"date":"2019-07-08T05:27:32","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T05:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backroadswest.com\/blog\/cathedral-valley-road-trip-copy\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T04:36:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T04:36:45","slug":"rochester-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.backroadswest.com\/blog\/rochester-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"Rochester Panel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n
\n

In central Utah there are several superb Native American rock art sites and the Rochester Panel is probably one of the most spectacular.\u00a0<\/strong> While most rock art sites have a smattering of petroglyphs or pictographs, the Rochester Panel is a large concentration of petroglyphs of many different designs.\u00a0 You will leave the site scratching your head for days wondering what they all mean.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

\n \n
\n
\n \"RochesterThumbnail\" \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \n
\n
\n

<\/h3>\n
\n Click image<\/strong> to watch Virtual Video Tour and see viewer comments.\nThen come back to get the rest of the story. <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\n \n \"RochesterYouTube2\" <\/a>\n \n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n

Trip Specs<\/h3> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n \n
\n \n
\n
\n

Length<\/h3>\n
\n
    \n
  • Driving: about 18 miles one-way<\/li>\n
  • Hiking: 1 mile round-trip<\/li>\n<\/ul> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n
    \n \n
    \n
    \n

    Attractions<\/h3>\n
    \n
      \n
    • Rock art site<\/li>\n
    • Unique petroglyphs<\/li>\n
    • Canyon views<\/li>\n<\/ul> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n
      \n \n
      \n \n
      \n
      \n

      Difficulty<\/h3>\n
      \n
        \n
      • Paved & dirt roads<\/li>\n
      • 2WD vehicles ok<\/li>\n
      • Easy to follow trail<\/li>\n<\/ul> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n
        \n \n
        \n
        \n

        Elevation Gain<\/h3>\n
        \n
          \n
        • About 150 feet (loss)<\/li>\n<\/ul> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
          \n
          \n
          \n \n
          \n
          \n

          Our Trip<\/h2>

          Our road trip this time actually takes you to two different rock art sites and both sites are remote.\u00a0 In fact, they are just north of the most remote segment of interstate highway in the U.S. which is I-70 between Salina and Green River, Utah.\u00a0 But don\u2019t worry, not far from the two sites and 20 miles north of I-70 is the very small town of Emery.\u00a0 And the Rochester Panel can actually be found quite easily by typing \u201cRochester Rock Art\u201d into Google Maps.<\/p>

          Types of Rock Art<\/h2>

          Before continuing, let\u2019s clarify some of the different types of rock art.\u00a0 First, there is the petroglyph <\/strong>which is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by picking or carving.\u00a0 Here in the Southwest, they are often found on rocks that have had the \u201cdesert varnish\u201d removed to show the original, lighter-color of the rock underneath.\u00a0 This makes the image stand out.\u00a0 Desert varnish is a coating found on exposed rock surfaces in arid environments. It contains some organic matter and, because of this, carbon dating can be used to determine the age of the etching (when it was drawn).\u00a0 The rock art at the Rochester Panel are all petroglyphs.\u00a0<\/p>

          There are some unique petroglyphs known as a \u201cwater glyph\u201d that are found only in southern Utah and northern Arizona.\u00a0 These reoccurring symbols supposedly point to a water source and have only recently been studied.\u00a0 They are typically a circle with a line through it that extends out beyond one side of the circle and are found on horizontal surfaces instead of the usual vertical surfaces of most petroglyphs.\u00a0<\/p>

          Another type of rock art is the pictograph<\/strong> which is painted or drawn onto a rock surface rather than being etched.\u00a0 For paint, the artists used colorful vegetation that was crushed and mixed with water, saliva or animal blood.\u00a0 Pictographs that are protected from wind, rain and direct sunlight, such as under rock alcoves, survive for centuries.\u00a0<\/p>

          Then there are the pictoglyphs<\/strong> which are painted petroglyphs.\u00a0 We rarely see these.<\/p>

          Also common in the Southwest are \u201ccowboy glyphs\u201d.\u00a0 As you might guess, these were inscriptions carved or scratched into a rock face by the first White settlers in the West.\u00a0 Many of them record historical dates and names of certain pioneer groups.<\/p>