Winnemucca Lake

Winnemucca Lake
Winnemucca Lake is located in Nevada
Winnemucca Lake
Winnemucca Lake
Winnemucca Lake
Coordinates40°06′40″N 119°20′28″W / 40.111°N 119.341°W / 40.111; -119.341
Surface elevation3,770 ft (1,150 m)
Winnemucca Lake bed, blue lake to the left is Pyramid Lake
Petroglyph site 26 Wa 3329, with some of the oldest known petroglyphs in the Americas
Detail of Petroglyphs – the carvings can be dated because they were covered by tufa layers, after the water level rose above them

Winnemucca Lake is a dry lake bed in northwest Nevada that features the oldest known petroglyphs in North America. Located astride the border between Washoe and Pershing counties,[1] it was a shallow lake until the 1930s, but was dried when a dam and a road were built that combined to restrict and block water flow. It was formerly designated as a National Wildlife Refuge, but its status as a refuge was removed due to the lack of water.

Winnemucca Lake is home to several petroglyphs long believed to be very old. In 2013, researchers dated the carvings to between 14,800 and 10,500 years ago. Either date would make them the oldest known petroglyphs found in North America. The carvings lie within the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation.

Note: There is another lake, having the same name of "Winnemucca Lake" in California, near the Carson pass (coordinates: 38°40'10.80"N, 119°59'36.59"W).

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Winnemucca Lake