Blythe Intaglios

Way out near the border to Arizona are the Blythe Intaglios, California’s answer to the Nazca lines.

You can see them easily on Google Maps.

Intaglio comes from an Italian word: to engrave.

What was the point of these things?

Some researchers hypothesize that the intaglios are stopping points on a keruk pilgrimage or simply the practice of the keruk ceremony at various places.^[13] The keruk was a mourning ceremony that was practiced by various Native Americans in southern California. The keruk included the reenactment of the creator’s death and the recognition of the people who had died since the last keruk. Warfare has been offered a possible explanation as to the spread along the Colorado River of ceremonies such as the keruk and the similar style of desert intaglios.^[13]

They were first “discovered” by pilots in the ’30s.

I keep meaning to go out there and have a look but it’s like four hours away.