Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Images Carved in Stone is a 50 minute video of selected images from over 325 carvings at St. Victor. The video includes scenes from South Western Saskatchewan and aerial views of the Badlands. See close up views of the carvings in morning and evening light, and by the light of a lantern. Artist David L. Munro takes an artistic look at the Carvers' ability to create the human form, hands feet, faces, Plains Grizzly Bear paws, cloven hoof prints, symbols, designs and single bird tracks.
stvictorpetroglyphs.ca
The St. Victor Petroglyphs Historic Provincial Park is located on the northern slope of the Wood Mountain Uplands, just 2km south of St. Victor, SK.
The area surrounding the Petroglyphs is home to a wide variety of plants and trees: Ash, Elm, Maple, Trembling Aspen, Birch and Juniper, just to name a few.
Walk to the end of the trail and look up at the massive rock outcropping of Ravenscrag sandstone, called the St. Victor Petroglyphs. The deep valley you are standing in was created during the last Ice Age by melting water that flowed from beneath the ice cap, heading east through the Big Muddy Valley into the Missouri River. The upper plateau where the petroglyphs are located is very unique, for it was undisturbed by the ice cap. Some of the plant life from this preglacial era still remains today. In early spring, the Arctic Moth and the Old Growth Birch Moth arrive to help with the propagation of these rare and delicate plants on display in this stunningly beautiful place. Over 125 flowering plants can be recorded in one afternoon, from the valley floor to the upper plateau. Butterflies and moths of many species visit the Park from spring to late fall. Some spend the winter, while other migrate when temperatures fall below freezing.
The horizontal surface of sandstone cliffs where the pertroglyphs are carved, is surrounded by a sparse, almost tundra-like vegetation, in stark contrast to the lush, green vegetation of the valley floor, some 200m below. This dramatic change in elevation is responsible for more than a 10°C variation in temperature.
The Petroglyphs carvings that you see in this video are a small sampling of the 320+ carvings found at St. Victor Petroglyph Park. An unusually large number of Plains Grizzly bear paw carvings are found at this site, along with a significant number of carving representing Man's hands and feet. There are also a large number of cloven hoof prints as well as a wide variety of other symbols and designs; some are known, but many are not. In addition, 3 complete outlines of Man, two turtles, one large human face and/or skull, and one lone eagle track adorn this site.
The carvers of the Petroglyphs were most likely Sioux, Plains Cree, Blackfoot, Mandan, and Assiniboine, or an even older group of plains people. Could the carvings have been created by one tribe documenting events in their history, or were they carved by members from all of the various nations?
The Petroglyphs may well be over 1000 years old. This coincides with the time period when the face/skull drawings were used in the eastern part of Minnesota by the Woodlands People. The variety of carvings and the association of carvings with different peoples leave many questions: who lived here, when did they do so, who made the carvings, and what is the significance of this site? It may have been a neutral area for ancient worshipers, with images being carved at different time periods over many years, each carver having limited contact with the previous carvers.
In recorded historic events, boundary lines and respect for scared grounds are always noted. The St. Victor Petroglyphs are indeed a special and sacred site. Why then do we find this collection of carvings representing different groups on this site? Did the different carvers try to unite the different tribes through their art? There appears to be three different styles of carving recorded here at St. Victor. Were there 3 talented carvers over many years who worked together to accomplish a common idea of union, or were there more than just 3 carvers?
Concerning the carvings, 3 images of Man are very clear. Each image is carved in its own distinctive style. 1 of the images of man is very different from the other 2. The single curved lines do not match the more ridged and personal drawings of the other 2. The 2nd image has the feet of man pointing towards each other, while the 3rd image has the feet pointing in the same direction. All of the images of man look like the man effigy designs found throughout the Central Plains of North America.
Images Carved in Stone is a 50 minute video of selected images from over 325 carvings at St. Victor. The video includes scenes from South Western Saskatchewan and aerial views of the Badlands. See close up views of the carvings in morning and evening light, and by the light of a lantern. Artist David L. Munro takes an artistic look at the Carvers' ability to create the human form, hands feet, faces, Plains Grizzly Bear paws, cloven hoof prints, symbols, designs and single bird tracks.
stvictorpetroglyphs.ca
The St. Victor Petroglyphs Historic Provincial Park is located on the northern slope of the Wood Mountain Uplands, just 2km south of St. Victor, SK.
The area surrounding the Petroglyphs is home to a wide variety of plants and trees: Ash, Elm, Maple, Trembling Aspen, Birch and Juniper, just to name a few.
Walk to the end of the trail and look up at the massive rock outcropping of Ravenscrag sandstone, called the St. Victor Petroglyphs. The deep valley you are standing in was created during the last Ice Age by melting water that flowed from beneath the ice cap, heading east through the Big Muddy Valley into the Missouri River. The upper plateau where the petroglyphs are located is very unique, for it was undisturbed by the ice cap. Some of the plant life from this preglacial era still remains today. In early spring, the Arctic Moth and the Old Growth Birch Moth arrive to help with the propagation of these rare and delicate plants on display in this stunningly beautiful place. Over 125 flowering plants can be recorded in one afternoon, from the valley floor to the upper plateau. Butterflies and moths of many species visit the Park from spring to late fall. Some spend the winter, while other migrate when temperatures fall below freezing.
The horizontal surface of sandstone cliffs where the pertroglyphs are carved, is surrounded by a sparse, almost tundra-like vegetation, in stark contrast to the lush, green vegetation of the valley floor, some 200m below. This dramatic change in elevation is responsible for more than a 10°C variation in temperature.
The Petroglyphs carvings that you see in this video are a small sampling of the 320+ carvings found at St. Victor Petroglyph Park. An unusually large number of Plains Grizzly bear paw carvings are found at this site, along with a significant number of carving representing Man's hands and feet. There are also a large number of cloven hoof prints as well as a wide variety of other symbols and designs; some are known, but many are not. In addition, 3 complete outlines of Man, two turtles, one large human face and/or skull, and one lone eagle track adorn this site.
The carvers of the Petroglyphs were most likely Sioux, Plains Cree, Blackfoot, Mandan, and Assiniboine, or an even older group of plains people. Could the carvings have been created by one tribe documenting events in their history, or were they carved by members from all of the various nations?
The Petroglyphs may well be over 1000 years old. This coincides with the time period when the face/skull drawings were used in the eastern part of Minnesota by the Woodlands People. The variety of carvings and the association of carvings with different peoples leave many questions: who lived here, when did they do so, who made the carvings, and what is the significance of this site? It may have been a neutral area for ancient worshipers, with images being carved at different time periods over many years, each carver having limited contact with the previous carvers.
In recorded historic events, boundary lines and respect for scared grounds are always noted. The St. Victor Petroglyphs are indeed a special and sacred site. Why then do we find this collection of carvings representing different groups on this site? Did the different carvers try to unite the different tribes through their art? There appears to be three different styles of carving recorded here at St. Victor. Were there 3 talented carvers over many years who worked together to accomplish a common idea of union, or were there more than just 3 carvers?
Concerning the carvings, 3 images of Man are very clear. Each image is carved in its own distinctive style. 1 of the images of man is very different from the other 2. The single curved lines do not match the more ridged and personal drawings of the other 2. The 2nd image has the feet of man pointing towards each other, while the 3rd image has the feet pointing in the same direction. All of the images of man look like the man effigy designs found throughout the Central Plains of North America.
