There is a time capsule hidden away among jumbled granite outcroppings located thirty-two miles northeast of El Paso. Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site is the custodian of this slice of Texas geography where ancient peoples left their marks in stone — a record of more than three-thousand pictographs.
The meanings behind these ancient pictographs largely remain a mystery and the subject of archeological research. Among these cryptic images are more than two-hundred painted masks or face designs attributed to an ancient people known as the Jornada Mogollon.
What is no mystery is why there are so many pictographs in this island of granite rising above the vast sea of surrounding desert. For centuries, ancient peoples were attracted to this area because it provided them with the one essential they needed in order to survive in the desert — water!
The huge boulders and rocks in the area are pock-marked with fissures and holes, called huecos (whey-coes), that can hold rainwater for months at a time. Hueco is a Spanish word that means hollows, referring to the natural depressions in the boulders. These natural water tanks attracted people and animals and created microhabitats that supported a variety of living things.
The Kiowa, Mescalero Apache, and Tigua are among the Native Americans that found refuge at Hueco Tanks. These peoples left behind their respective signatures in stone. The pictographs of Hueco Tanks show dancing figures, handprints, animals, weapons, and human figures. These images tell stories of daily life, hunting, traditions, celebration, conflict, and more.
The rocks at Hueco Tanks also record the presence of latter-day visitors — cowboys and travelers through the region who also etched their names in stone. Sadly, vandals have also left their marks at the site, requiring costly services to remove the graffiti without damaging the original pictographs.
Because of the fragile nature and historic value of the site, visitors to the park are required to watch a fifteen-minute video that provides both the history of and orientation to the site. Guided tours are offered by park rangers into areas that are restricted to other hikers in order to protect the site’s pictographs. Hikers may access other trails that give them access to some beautiful vistas.
My wife Cheryl and I enjoyed our visit to Hueco Tanks. Loved our hike. Loved the sights. Loved imagining what it must have been like for the peoples who found refuge on this island in the Chihuahuan Desert. If you are anywhere near Hueco Tanks on your next road trip, be sure to add this amazing site to your list of places to visit.