Historical Markers of Lander County
- HM 8 - Austin
- HM 59 - Stokes Castle
- HM 66 - Jacobsville
- HM 67 - Austin Churches
- HM 95 - Battle Mountain
- HM 119 - Reul Colt Gridley (Citizen Extraordinaire)
- HM 136 - Toquima Cave
- HM 137 - Hickison Summit
- HM 176 - The Surveyors
- HM 208 - International Hotel (First Commercial Building Constructed in Austin - 1863)
- Journey to Nevada's Geographic Center
Nevada Landmarks Home Page
*HM 136*
-- Toquima Cave --
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Location: Central Lander County, Big Smoky Valley
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Date Conquered: 10/21/07
Quick Description: A unique marker noting an old Native American dwelling and gathering site.
Signed: Yes -- Signed on both lanes of SR 376.
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Full Description:
Exact description as reads...
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East of the summit, north of the highway, and under a basalt flow lies Toquima Cave. Red, white, and yellow aboriginal drawings (pictographs) decorate its walls.
Usually located near springs, as here, and on migratory big game trails, painted or pecked petroglyphs are associated with food gathering localities of Nevada's prehistoric inhabitants.
There are no known specific meanings attached to the particular design elements. Presumably, these people created the designs as ritual devices to insure success in the hunt.
Most petroglyphs, therefore, probably are not "messages" or conscious "art forms".
DID YOU KNOW?...
Follow this road past the cave, over the Monitor Range to Spencer's Hot Spring. Not only is Spencer's a nice place to wet the skin on a hot summer day, the spring has a few very basic facilities for camping! From Spencer's, the Belmont Road provides an easy, beautiful 40 mile connection back to civilization (US 50).
...The surrounding valleys around Austin offer more to the visitor than meets the eye? For example, if you'd like a nice place to chill and soak in the desert (literally), you've come to the right region!
