Petroglyph Beach





Petroglyph Beach

  



Petroglyph Beach Historic Site

We rode our bikes about a mile north of Wrangell to Petroglyph Beach, a State Historic Site where forty petroglyphs can be seen at low tide.  We found several of the petroglyphs as we walked around the rock outcroppings near the shore.  It is believed that the petroglyphs were carved by early Stikine Tlingits possibly 1,000 years ago; however, archaeological finds in Southeast Alaska indicate that humans were present more than 8,000 years ago so the rock carvings could be much older.  No one really knows why the petroglyphs were created, there are several theories:  perhaps to mark a death/birth, or a beacon for returning salmon since most “glphs” are placed below high tide, or territorial markers, or perhaps simply doodling while waiting.  From the park overlooking the beach, we could see the marked color difference between the salt water and the fresh water of the mighty Stikine River.  The Stikine River is the fastest-flowing navigable river in North America and runs 330 miles through British Columbia with the last 30 miles through Alaska emptying just five miles north of Wrangell carrying fresh water with glacier runoff.





One of Many Ancient Petroglyphs





Ancient Petroglyph

 







Ancient Petroglyph