Nile Root

The Park is not only a haven for hikers, rock climbers and photographers; an artist hikes with his painting gear into the interior to search for the solitude and inspiration offered by this unique environment.

The high natural pyramid has been terraced with attention to the stabilization of the slope.

A carefully crafted wide granite stairway leads to the top. This site apparently had a special significance to the people of Machu Picchu.

The Temple is on the eastern side of the Sacred Plaza. It has three windows that are unusually large. In the foreground is a carefully carved stepped stone next to an upright pillar. The stepped stone may symbolize mountains, a kind of echostone.

The wall at the far right has a niche (see next page) carved into the edges of two adjacent stones to form a support for a large beam which was across the front of the Temple at one time.

This wall at the right is a true “Inca wall” worth a look up close.

On March 20, 2004, we welcome spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The Vernal Equinox has been celebrated for centuries in the Southwest. On the Equinox this spear of sunlight crosses an ancient solar symbol carved by a Native American. This marker has survived for a millennium.This image is part of my eight-year study of Signal Hill, Arizona, near Tucson. You can see more of this study by going to this web site Contents page and clicking on Archaeoastronomy and then Signal Hill.

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