Piasa

The Piasa (pronounced /ˈpaɪ.əsɔː/ PY-ə-saw), also known as the Piasa Bird, stands as a remarkable figure in Native American mythology, immortalized in one of two ancient murals created by indigenous peoples along the limestone bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The creature's original painted representation was located at the terminus of a limestone cliff formation in Madison County, Illinois, near what is now the city of Alton.

While the authentic Piasa illustration has been lost to time, a contemporary recreation based on nineteenth-century sketches and lithographs now adorns a bluff in Alton, positioned several hundred yards upstream from the original site. This modern rendition requires regular maintenance and restoration due to the poor quality of the limestone surface, which does not readily retain painted images. The primordial Piasa mural had been created on lithographic limestone—a superior medium for such artwork—but this geological canvas was unfortunately destroyed in the late 1870s when the Mississippi Lime Company quarried away the formation during mining operations.

The Piasa represents one of the most significant examples of Native American rock art from the pre-Columbian period in the Mississippi River Valley, embodying cultural beliefs and oral traditions that stretched back centuries before European contact. As an important cultural symbol for indigenous peoples of the region, the creature continues to capture imagination and inspire interest in Native American heritage, despite the original artwork having been lost to industrial development.