description Writing Rock State Historic Site Overview
Writing Rock State Historic Site is a protected cultural site in northwestern North Dakota near the Canadian border. It preserves two granite boulders bearing carved figures, including thunderbird-like forms associated with Indigenous peoples of the northern Plains. The boulders are glacial erratics, and their incised designs give the site its name; interpretive facilities place the carvings within the region's Native American cultural landscape.
help Writing Rock State Historic Site FAQ
Where is Writing Rock State Historic Site?
Writing Rock State Historic Site is near Grenora in northwestern North Dakota, about 14.5 miles northeast of Grenora. It is located near the Canadian border in Divide County.
What is carved into the Writing Rock boulders?
The site preserves two granite boulders bearing carved figures, including thunderbird-like forms. Thunderbirds are important mythological beings in traditions of several Algonquian- and Siouan-speaking peoples of the northern Plains.
How old are the figures at Writing Rock?
The carvings are prehistoric Indigenous rock art, but assigning one exact date to them is difficult. Comparable thunderbird imagery on northern Plains artifacts is often placed broadly between A.D. 1000 and 1700.
Can visitors see Writing Rock today?
The site has on-site parking, restrooms, and a picnic area, and admission is listed as free. It is open year-round, although winter snow removal is limited.
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