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 A modern reproduction of the "Piasa Bird", on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in Alton. Wings were not described in Marquette's 1673 account. | |
| Sub grouping | Thunderbird |
|---|---|
| Folklore | Native American Legend |
| Other name(s) | Paillissa Piasa Bird Piesa |
| Country | United States |
| Region | Illinois |
The Piasa (/ˈpaɪ.əsɔː/ PY-ə-saw) or Piasa Bird is a creature from Native American mythology depicted in one of two murals painted by Native Americans on cliffsides above the Mississippi River. Its original location was at the end of a chain of limestone bluffs in Madison County, Illinois, at present-day Alton, Illinois. The original Piasa illustration no longer exists; a newer 20th-century version, based partly on 19th-century sketches and lithographs, has been placed on a bluff in Alton, Illinois, several hundred yards upstream from its origin. The limestone rock quality is unsuited for holding an image, and the painting must be regularly restored. The original site of the painting was on lithographic limestone, which was quarried away in the late 1870s by the Mississippi Lime Company.[1][2]
- ^ Mississippi Lime Co. records
- ^ Karl Shuker (1995). Dragons: A Natural History. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81443-9.