Pictograph Cave Field Trip - Photo Archive


Science Photographs on Things Discovered in the Field Trip, by Station: \|1\| \|2\| \|3\| \|4\| \|5\| \|6\| \|7\| Use the links to view photographs.
SCIENCE	Welcome to the 1st Station : The Mystery of Pictograph Cave 01trail: The trail that leads to Pictograph, Middle and Ghost Caves. What is Pictograph Cave State Park? 01view1: An aerial view of Pictograph, Middle and Ghost Caves, before the park was developed. 01empty: A drawing of Empty Gulch, in which Pictograph, Middle and Ghost Caves are found. 01view2: Looking across Empty Gulch, from the mouth of Ghost Cave. 01cave: The mouth of Pictograph Cave (present), in winter. 01blngs1: Billings, Montana, today. 01cliff1: Sandstone cliffs (rims) in the area surrounding Billings. What makes this park special? 01ex01: The mouth of Pictograph Cave, before excavation. 01ex02: The 1937 excavation. 01ex03: The 1937 excavation, showing sifter. Why is Bitter Creek bitter? 01creek: Bitter Creek flood What animals live in the area of the caves? 01marmot: The yellow-bellied marmot, or rockchuck. 01deer: Mule deer have large, furry ears, which look somewhat like those of a mule. 01fox: Red fox 01bis: Cow bison with twin calves. 01chip: Chipmunk 01rac: The raccoon is a furry animal that has a bushy ringed-tail and a band of black hair around its eyes. This black hair looks like a mask. 01coyote: Coyote.

	Welcome to the 2nd Station : Formation of Caves How did the caves form? 02notch1: The V-notch above Pictograph Cave. 02notch2: Detail of the dark stains spilling over the lip of the notch. 02notch3: Water spilling over a notch during a rain storm. How old are the caves? 02beach: An example of how the ocean may have deposited the sand that hardened into sandstone. 02cliff1: Sandstone cliffs (rims) in the area surrounding Billings. What is the colorful orange substance growing on the rocks around the caves? 02lich: Lichen on a rock. What reptiles live in the area of the caves? 02sign: Watch Out! Many snakes live in the rocks around the sandstone cliffs. 01liz: A lizard suns himself on a rock.

	Welcome to the 3rd Station : Pictograph Cave What are pictographs? Sorry, no photos on this question right now. Why is it hard to see some of the pictographs today? Sorry, no additional social studies information on this question right now. 03pictocave: An illustration of the mouth of Pictograph Cave. 03picto38: A portion of the interior wall of Pictograph Cave in 1938. 03picto65: A portion of the interior wall of Pictograph Cave in 1965, showing some of the same pictographs. 03pond1: The stock pond that was built above Pictograph Cave, springtime. 03pond2: An aerial view of the stock pond, showing proximity to Pictograph Cave. 03pond3:Another aerial view of the stock pond. Why is some rock falling off the walls? Sorry, no additional social studies information on this question right now. What birds build their nests on the walls of the caves? 03swallow: A cliff swallow. 03mudjugs01: Cliff swallow nests, or mud jugs, on a cliff wall. 03doves01: Rock doves resting in depressions in the cliff wall. 03doves03: Rock dove. 03meadow: Western meadowlark. 03magpie: The magpie is a familiar site in the area. 03chick: The black-capped chickadee. 03hawk: Swainsons hawk.

	Welcome to the 4th Station : Middle Cave Why do birds like Middle Cave more than humans do? 04mid: Middle Cave Why do people call the park active? 04fire: Several years ago a fire charred the hillsides surrounding the caves. 04firenow: Today the vegetation is beginning to replenish itself. 04erode01: This photograph shows the damage that water does to the cave walls and the pictographs as it seeps through the sandstone. 04erode02: Another view of the damage that water does to the cave walls and the pictographs as it seeps through the sandstone. What do dinosaurs have to do with the caves? Sorry, no photos on this question right now. Why were trees important to Native Americans? 04trees1: Several species of trees are common near the caves. Why did Native Americans follow the huge buffalo herds? Sorry, no photos on this question right now.

	Welcome to the 5th Station : Ghost Cave Are there ghosts in Ghost Cave? Sorry, no photos on this question right now. What is a concretion? 05concret: Two large concretions in Ghost Cave. Who lived here and why? Sorry, no photos on this question right now. How did Native Americans use the plants they found around the caves? 05choke: Chokecherry in bloom. 05cactus: Prickly Pear cacti in bloom 05yucca: Yucca

SCIENCE	Welcome to the 6th Station : Archeological Excavation What does it mean to excavate? 06dirt01: The mound of dirt outside of Ghost Cave. 06dirt02:Another view of the mound of dirt outside of Ghost Cave. 06live:Workers lived in Ghost Cave while excavating Pictograph Cave in 1938. 06olddig: 06lines: There are dotted lines on the walls of Ghost and Pictograph Caves. The black dotted lines are historic because they were put there by Mulloy and his excavation crew in the 1930's to mark the position of the cave floor before they started to excavate. 07vandal1: This is a shot of vandalism on the back wall probably from the 1960's or 1970's. Note the scale of the man to the black marks showing the location of the original cave floor. Why didn't they dig up everything? 06dig1: 06dig2: 06dig3: Drawings of artifacts: 06arts1: Knives and choppers. 06arts2: Gaming sticks and paint brushes 06arts3: Projectile points 06arts4: Arrow shafts 06arts5: Shell beads 06arts6: Shell tools 06arts7: Projectile points Where are all of the artifacts today? 06museum:The museum at the cave site after it was burned by vandals. Why was digging in Pictograph Cave important to all scientists? 06sign: Pictograph Cave is a National Historic Landmark. What other dwellings did workers find? 06lodge: An artist's interpretation of how the ancient lodge might have looked.

	Welcome to the 7th Station : Preserving the Past: A Visit with Claire Dean What is vandalism? 07trash01: 07vandal1: This is a shot of the back wall probably from the 1960's or 1970's. The pictograph in the upper right is the group of rifles and "tally" marks. The black dotted line is historic as it was put there by Mulloy and his excavation crew in the 1930's to mark the position of the cave floor before they started to excavate. 07vandal2: Taken some time after 07vanda1 and shows a later act of vandalism. The area of the rifles is included in 07vandal2 - above the black dotted line between the end of the red spray paint and the corner of the boulder in the lower right of the shot - but the big black spray paint visible in 07vandal1 is not. This suggests that the black stuff had been cleaned off and then later "BEEVER", "JOHN", and "KEN" came along and informed us of their visit. Why are pictographs not considered graffiti? Sorry, no photos on this question right now. What can we all do to save the caves? Sorry, no photos on this question right now. What does an archeological conservator do? 07claire: J. Claire Dean on site at Pictograph Cave. 07claire01: Some of the members of the conservation team examining and talking about an area of the wall were a cleaning test had been carried out. 07claire02: Two samples of rock collected from the floor of the cave and used to carry out some intial testing of potential cleaning solutions before trying them out on the actuall wall. 07claire03: Frank Preusser (Conservation Scientist) examining the wall using a magnifying lens. (Looks like his nose has been accidentally glued to the wall and he is stuck there!) 07claire05: A bottle containing a quantity of one of the tested cleaning solutions. 07sn: A conservator examining the condition of the cave wall. 07scaffold: Claire Dean installs a pair of crack monitors across a major fracture in the cave ceiling to assess whether or not the fracture is moving. Would you like to be an archeologist? Sorry, no photos on this question right now.