Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park
Sanilac Petroglyphs Historic State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Michigan. The park, also known as ezhibiigadek asin (Ojibwe for "written on stone") consists of in Greenleaf Township, Sanilac County, in Michigan's Thumb. It contains the largest collection of Native American petroglyphs in Michigan. The carvings were created in the pre-Columbian era and represent aspects of Native American spirituality. An interpretive hiking trail within the park passes along the nearby Cass River. This historic park is co-managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Saginaw Chippewa Nation. It was donated to the state by the Michigan Archaeological Society in 1971, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The petroglyphs Origins The main feature of the park is a sandstone outcrop with around 165 petroglyphs on it. The largest grouping of such carvings in Michigan, they were likely carved between 300 and 1,400 years ago. They were discovered by the area's settlers after much of the Thumb region was burned over by a massive forest fire in 1881. The petroglyphs include depictions of the religious and cultural knowledge of Great Lakes Native American tribes. Among the depictions of swirls, lines, handprints,