THE MYSTERIES OF RED MOUNTAIN

The foothills of Red Mountain east of Cedar City are full of mysteries. I had heard rumors of strange carvings and lost mines in this area, and have finally made time to search for some of them. With only a few vague clues in hand, I somehow was able to find everything I was looking for plus a few surprises along the way.
Near the mouth of Cedar Canyon there is a life-size carving in rock of a person with a cross for a head and that is holding up a round object. The few people that are aware of this carving call it "Shotput Man," or "All-American Man," but nobody seems to recall exactly who carved it. Theories range widely from early Spanish explorers to hippies who frequented the area in the 70s.

At least one person thinks that the stone figure is pointing out ancient buried treasure. This is evident from the not-so-ancient vertical shaft someone has dug into the hill directly above the carved figure.


A little more difficult to find are the "mystery glyphs" etched in stone above a tomb-like cave that overlooks Cedar City. Again, no one seems to agree on just how old or who the author of the so-called "glyphs" might be. Most scholars regard these Egyptian-type symbols as a hoax, but dozens of similar panels have been found throughout the western U.S., making it a very elaborate hoax.



While searching for the mystery glyphs, I came across a very unusual mine. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but if you look closely at the roof of the adit you can see the imprint of a huge petrified log! Someone tried to mine it out but it appears that it was too brittle to keep intact, as the dump is littered with thousands of pieces of shattered petrified wood:

You can still see the plant tissue preserved in the stone:

Above is another strange symbol carved into a high cliff face quite a distance away from the mystery glyphs. A Spanish sign for treasure?

I stumbled across yet another mine while looking for the mystery glyphs. This one is extra creepy - soda bottles, dust masks, and work gloves lying around as if the miner was just taking a break, or, perhaps had an accident and his body lay at the bottom waiting to be discovered. I vey well may be the first person to come across these workings as nothing appears to be disturbed. I didn't have a flashlight this day, but I'll be back to explore its depths.

Other patterns and colors of Red Mountain: