Water glyphs are a recurring type of petroglyph found across the American southwest, but primarily in southern Utah, northern Arizona, and Nevada. The symbols are thought to be of ancient origin (perhaps created by the Ancestral Puebloans) and have been dated using x-ray fluorescence to around 2000 years. Classification as a water glyph requires the presence of certain distinctive characteristics including both visual elements and location. Although the glyphs have likely been previously noted by local ranchers and farmers, the recurring pattern was first documented in 1997.[1][2]
To date, more than 370 instances of these petroglyphs had been cataloged in an extensive GIS study.[3]