03/03/2021
If you’re into art or history, or just like being outdoors, a trip to the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, in Southern New Mexico about halfway between Tularosa and Carrizozo, is a must. Just east of U.S. Highway 54, there’s a basaltic escarpment and, on nearly every available surface along the ridgeline, the Jornada Mogollon people, sometime between 900 and 1400 CE, chipped the desert varnish to create petroglyphs.
The History
The people lived along three creeks that give the place its name. Three Rivers sounds more majestic than three creeks, I suppose, but water was
once more secure there. Reminders of their presence can be found in partially excavated pit houses along one of the creeks near the petroglyphs.