Condor/Coyote Trails
Condor/Coyote Trails2 bedrock mortars on a small hill below the reservoir.There are two cone-shaped mortars at this little campsite. The second is nearby, under the trees.
Territory: Bay Miwok
Speakers of Bay Miwok dialects occupied most of the area of Contra Costa County not bordering San Francisco or San Pablo bays. The territory of one Bay Miwok tribe, the Jalquin, may have extended into Alameda county and touched San Francisco bay at the mouth of San Leandro Creek.
Hog Canyon
Hog Canyon6 bedrock mortars and 1 portable mortar in Hog Canyon.The route up Hog Canyon from Marsh Creek was one of the main entryways to the Volvon heartland. This site is right on that trail.Jim examines the portable mortar. Bob looks toward a toward a bedrock mortar on a tipped over rock.
Los Vaqueros Pond Village
Los Vaqueros Pond Village130 bedrock mortars and 4 slicks.CA-CCO-461Elevation 642 ft.The pond here is often dry. Nearby Adobe Creek would have provided year-round water to this village.Jim among grinding rocks and housepits.A view of the streamside terrace on the south bank of Pond Village Creek. At least three mortar rocks are visible in this photograph. […]
Manhattan Trail–Black Diamond Mines
Manhattan Trail–Black Diamond Mines5 cupule rock, 1 bedrock mortar at the top of Manhattan Trail.Jim and Heather examine cupules.
Off Marsh Creek Road
Off Marsh Creek RoadAt least 5 bedrock mortarsElevation 370 ft.You’ll find the mortars on this exposed bedrock bench.Three of the mortars.A small hill rises about a quarter mile southeast of the bench. Bob enjoys the view from a curiously-shaped (and colored) rock we call “the throne.”This perfect bowl occupies the top of a rock not […]
Slick Ridge
Slick Ridge33 bedrock mortars, numerous slicks, and multiple housepits on a ridge between Blue Oak and Volvon Trails.Many of these mortars are pot or pan-shaped, relative rarities in Volvon territory.We call this Slick Ridge because of all the flat rocks with shallow indentations we’ve found here. It’s hard to tell sometimes what’s a slick and […]
Volvon Overlook
Volvon Overlook3 bedrock mortars, 2 of them bowls.Looking down Mallory Creek toward Brushy Peak.It is only 6 miles as the crow flies to the regional trading grounds on the NE side of Brushy Peak.This is a natural lookout point. A group concerned about security would undoubtedly post someone up here.
Below Cave Point
Below Cave Point11 bedrock mortars all one one rock.Think those big holes are geoconcretions? Think again. They are huge bowl mortars. Their side walls bulge out into the surrounding rock in a classic “Olla” shape–the bowl is wider at the side walls than it is at the rim. The bottoms of these bowls are basically […]
Coyote Trail below reservoir
Coyote Trail below reservoirSeven bedrock mortars near the source of a Marsh Creek Tributary.Bob jots down the dimensions of a classic oval-mouthed cone-shaped mortar.
Hummingbird
Hummingbird10 bedrock mortars at Hummingbird/Volvon trail.Rock slab with trough. Bedrock mortars nearby.