De Ek Wadapush (Cave Rock)
Douglas County, Douglas County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
De Ek Wadapush (Cave Rock). A sacred place to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, cave rock is the subject of many legends. Named for a cave, a remnant of which can be seen some 200 feet above the waterline. This formation was a landmark on the Lake Bigler Toll Road in the early days. Quarried granite blocks, which support the toll road, can still be seen on the west face of cave rock. The rock was first tunneled for the construction of a highway in 1931 and the second tunnel was put through in 1957. The Washoe name for Cave Rock is De-ek Wadapush which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property. It is important now as it has been for thousands of years for the Washoe." Medicine men meditated and prayed here" and many distinct features help make up our culture, gifted basket makers, the wisdom of long-preserved legends, and our traditional way of life. Cave Rock was one of our prominent sacred sites reflecting our traditional values of respect for the land and "da ow" (Lake Tahoe) the life-sustaining water, the center of the Washoe world (Washoe elder)
Erected by Washoe Tribe Of Nevada And California
The Story
Known to the Washoe as De-ek Wadapush, Cave Rock has been a sacred place for thousands of years, a site where medicine people meditated and prayed and a landmark woven through the tribe's legends and traditional life beside da ow — Lake Tahoe. In the settlement era it also served the newcomers: quarried granite blocks still brace the old Lake Bigler Toll Road on its face, and highway tunnels were bored through the rock in 1931 and again in 1957. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a Traditional Cultural Property.
Why it matters
Cave Rock stands at the intersection of two histories — an enduring Washoe sacred site and a monument to how road-building reshaped the land — making it a touchstone for Native cultural preservation in America.
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