The World's Largest Art Gallery Is Located In A Utah Canyon
By Kim Magaraci|Published November 24, 2021
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Kim Magaraci
Author
Kim Magaraci graduated Rutgers University with a degree in Geography and has spent the last seven years as a freelance travel writer. Contact: kmagaraci@onlyinyourstate.com
Utah is home to some of the most remarkable natural wonders in the country, including canyons, hoodoos, arches, and mountains. One of the most fascinating places to visit, though, is a natural wonder that has been touched by human hands. Ninemile Canyon, in eastern Utah, is known as the world’s largest art gallery, thanks to tens of thousands of prehistoric petroglyphs and pictographs that adorn its rocky red walls.
Despite its name, Ninemile Canyon stretches for more than 40 miles and winds its way through Carbon and Duchesne counties in a remote part of eastern Utah.
This winding and rocky canyon was home to Fremont culture and Ute people for thousands of years, and eventually became a route for European fur trappers, traders, and settlers.
The defining characteristic of this canyon is the evidence of Indigenous history etched, painted, and built into the canyon walls. Ninemile Canyon is known as the world's largest art gallery, because there are tens of thousands of pictographs and petroglyphs on display.
It's truly remarkable to see and learn about those who lived on these lands before they were removed and wiped clean by European-Americans, and a visit to Ninemile Canyon is a lesson in history that everyone should see in person.
To learn more about the Ute people who lived in Utah and still reside in much of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona, visit their tribe’s website, here.