Arizona / Blythe Intaglios
Blythe Intaglios
The Blythe Intaglios or Blythe Geoglyphs are a group of gigantic figures found on the ground near Blythe, California in the Colorado Desert. The intaglios are found east of the Big Maria Mountains, about 15 miles (24 km) north of downtown Blythe, just west of U.S. Highway 95 near the Colorado River. The largest human figure is 171 feet (52 m) long. The intaglios are best viewed from the air.
The geoglyphs or intaglios (anthropomorphic geoglyphs) were created by scraping away layers of darker rocks or pebbles to reveal a stratum of lighter-valued soil. While these “gravel pictographs” are found through the deserts of southeastern California, human figures are found only near the Colorado River. The figures are so immense that many of them were not observed by non-Indians until the 1930s. The set of geoglyphs includes several dozen figures, thought to be ceremonial in nature. Many of them are believed to date from the prehistoric period, but their age and the identity of their creators are still uncertain. Jay von Werlhof and his collaborators obtained 13 AMS radiocarbon dates for the figures, ranging from 900 BCE to 1200 CE. Source: Wikipedia
Arizona Intaglios
By Nelson Miller
Jay Lawrence did a very nice write-up on the Blythe Intaglios in the February Newsletter (actually I liberated it from Wikipedia - Jay). Nelson Miller will be leading a trip to the Blythe Intaglios on Sunday, March 12 at the Rendezvous. Also to be included in Nelson’s trip will be two other Intaglios, or geoglyphs, on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, the fisherman and snake intaglios. The Arizona intaglios are thought to probably date from the same period as the Blythe Intaglios, ranging from 900 BCE to 1200 CE. These are thought to perhaps be attributed to Yuman, or Quechan Native American tribes, which may also be known as the Mojave, which operate the Avi Casino, north of Needles. There are reputedly as many as 60 of the geoglyphs along the lower Colorado River. The Mohavi, or Mojave, Twins are another example of these geoglyphs. The Twins are located just south of Fort Mojave, and east of the Avi Casino, overlooking the Colorado River.
