Petroglyphs, as definined by Wikipedia, are "images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading." Pictographs are defined by the same source as "an image drawn or painted on a rock face." As the visitor will see, within the Coso Range, near Ridgecrest California, the petroglyphs are rubbed or pecked into smooth-surfaced basalt or volcanic rock. The canyon available for the public to visit is known as Little Petroglyph Canyon or Renegade Canyon. While the intreptations of these images are as numerous as the images themselves, it is obvious they held a special meaning to the Native Americans that made them. Some images you will see are deep into the stone, suggesting the artwork was done repetitively, such as during a hunter or shaman's seasonal visit to the canyon. Other markings are not as distinct and are scratchings, and still others seem to overlap or or on top of earlier images - perhaps intentionally blotting them out. Basalt has proven to be a resilient medium for this artwork, thankfully. Erosion and wear is still obvious however from such naturally-occurring causes as the sand-laden wind storms in the area, water from flash flooding on images lower in the canyon, and from lichen eating at the mineral-laden rock itself. The best preserved images are along canyon walls, within niches and overhangs, etc. There are certainly many areas of the canyon with clear imagry. Some small amount of vandalism has occurred at Little Petroglyph Canyon, but nowhere near as much as at areas outside the Navy's base.