| Canyon Pintado National Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, encompasses public land along 15 miles of State Highway 139. Canyon Pintado (Spanish for "Painted Canyon") received its name in 1776 when Fathers Dominguez and Escalante noted numerous examples of ancient Native American rock art as they traveled through the Douglas Creek Valley.
The principal rock art in the Rangely area is located along three corridors: the Canyon Pintado National Historic District to the southeast (along Highway 139), the Dragonfly Road to the southwest, and east and west of Rangely on Highway 64. Most of the petroglyphs and pictographs in this area were created by either the Fremont Culture or Ute peoples that roamed this region. Because of the close proximity of these three corridors, we’ve lumped them together under the Canyon Pintado National Historic District site.
Much of this route is also known as the Dinosaur Diamond National Scenic Byway. |
| Facilities: |
Covered picnic tables and vault toilets at the East Four Mile Recreation Site. |
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| coordinates (NAD83): |
GPS coordinates (NAD83):
- For the Lookout Point Site near the northern end: 40 01.787N; 108 46.307W.
- For the Waving Hands Site near the southern end: 39 50.455N; 108 44.355W.
- See our Personal Notes for GPS coordinates for each of the sites.
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