Register Rock - American Falls, ID
Posted by: 
linkys
N 42° 39.160 W 113° 01.020
12T E 334672 N 4724216
A large boulder on which immigrants traveling the Oregon-California Trail wrote their names.
Waymark Code: WM7MFJ
Location: Idaho, United States
Date Posted: 11/09/2009
Views: 8
The area where Register Rock is located was one of the more popular camp sites along the Oregon-California trail due to a creek emptying into the Snake River at this location, thus providing better forage for the animals.
Along the trail it was common for emigrants to leave their mark where ever they could, and it just happened that the prehistoric Bonneville Flood had left a large rounded rock right in the middle of this area. Their drawings, initials, names and dates inscribed upon this rock is what today is known as Register Rock.
Many names have been obliterated over the years, but some actually chiseled their names into the rocks. Some of those have been lost through erosion through the years but you can still see quite a few names. With the rock now protected with a covering and fenced off, maybe they will survive for future generations to see.
On a small, difficult to read sign nearby is the following:
"After their meals were cooked and their livestock grazed, early pioneers took time to record their presence on this and other rocks in the area. The land around Register rock was a common camping area along the Oregon and California trails. It has been preserved by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation so that the modern visitor may enjoy a landmark of the past."