The Mount Irish Archaeological District, located on the eastern flank of the Mount Irish Range, is one of the most important archaeological areas in eastern Nevada. The District covers 640 acres and provides a vista of prehistoric rock art and habitation sites, set in a dramatic landscape of tuff (volcanic ash) knolls and outcrops, alluvial fans, and washes. The District is best known for spectacular rock art that portrays the cultural lives of the Native American peoples who used the area some 4,000 years ago to the nineteenth century.
The three largest rock art sites in the District have interpretive trails and a trail guide that is available at visitor register boxes at these sites.
The Mount Irish site is rich with Rock Art. There are three distinct areas to explore. The numerous petroglyphs, along with scatters of chipped and ground-stone, pottery and rock shelters, suggest the sites were occupied from 1000 B.C. to the 1860s. Most of the petroglyphs are of the Great Basin Representational stylem (A.D. 1-1500) often depicting bighorn sheep and deer.
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Courtesy S. Ward – Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park