Ancient Desert Figures – The Blythe Intaglios, CA
I was more excited than a two year old on sugar syrup. Granted I get easily excited, especially about ancient and obscure stuff, but this was impressive even for me. When we were visiting our buddies in Cibola last week Murlene told me about some crazy, ancient stick figures in the middle of the AZ desert just north of Blythe, CA, and….I….was….gripped.
Blythe….really?
I have nothing against Blythe, per se, but it doesn’t really ring the bells of historical findings for me. It’s your typical dusty middle-sized desert town, a mix of newer and run-down buildings (with a fair few iffy characters) amidst the general sprawl of a few big box stores backed by an admittedly slightly better-than-usual grocery store. It draws the ATV & boating types (for the Colorado River), and has a rather large farming community (the Colorado River, again), but it’s not exactly a “happening” place and I’d never been particularly attracted to it.
But this…now this was something cool!
Ever since my youth I’ve been fascinated by the lines of Nazca in Peru. Known as anthropomorphic geoglyphs they are shallow lines made in the ground by removing the darker surface pebbles and uncovering the whitish/grayish ground beneath. This ancient desert floor graffiti lay undiscovered for thousands of years partially because it was so remote, and partially because the figures are only properly observed from ABOVE. It took until the 1920’s for them to be “discovered” and for modern man to realize their amazingness (you know the word makes sense…just go with it). Paul and I went to Peru with family several years ago, but I never made it down to see the lines.
I knew there were geoglyphs in other places, but I had no idea the most famous North American geoglyphs were in Blythe?
Once the impact of this discovery had sunk in, I was all over it like…well…pre-historic man on a Mammoth hunt. We left our current boondocking spot in Quartzsite early AM (to avoid the heat) and motored the short hop over to Blythe and onto US95 north. Around 15 miles north of town we saw the sign to the Blythe Intaglios on the left, turned onto the bumpy dirt road and drove around 1/2 mile to the first pullout. A short hike to the first gated enclosure and we were there.
These things were so much bigger than I expected!
There are 6 total figures here in 3 separate areas, believed to have been created by the Mohave or Quechan Indians somewhere between 450 and 2,000 years ago (geogylphs are hard to date). Two large man-like drawings (likely Mastamho, the Creator) and a some smaller animals (likely Hatakulya, two mountain lions/persons who helped in the Creation) stretch up to 171 feet (~52 meters) in length across the desert floor.
From ground level the figures are grossly distorted and look like gangly, insane giants (aliens?) as if the artist(s) who created them was slightly mad. It’s only from the sky that their true beauty emerges, a veritable masterpiece of symmetry and form, and they call to the Gods as strongly as the day they were created.
The one and only time I ever wished I owned a drone…seriously!
Doggie and us spent an hour or so (in total solitude by the way) visiting the three sets of figures. We were totally awed by this ancient history, beautifully preserved in such an obscure location (yes, I did say Blythe). When we finally managed to pull ourselves free and motor back home, we were lost in the history of ancient man and the pre-historic stories of the desert. We lounged at our spacious site, mixed ourselves a Pisco Sour (it seemed fitting) and pondered what the sunset must have looked like 2000 years ago.
Quite a fascinating little day-trip, and we didn’t even need to fly to Peru to experience it 🙂
Note/ Access to the Blythe Intaglios is via a somewhat bumpy dirt road. Our CRV did fine, but very low-clearance cars might want to park below the first small hill and hike up. The first two sets of geoglyphs are accessible from large pull outs with trails directly from the main road, while the third set is off-road ~1/2 mile to the south. All are located along the first mile of the road. If you drive past the end of the fenced-off area you’ve gone too far and missed them. This is BLM land, free to access and 100% dog friendly.
- Approx. coordinates set #1 33.800381, -114.531819
- Approx. coordinates set #2 33.800352, -114.538111
- Approx. coordinates set #3 33.7947895,-114.5364212
Very interesting. They look quite “fresh” from the ground level images in the post so I can’t help but wonder if they aren’t some long since graduated high-school kid’s idea of a clever prank
It’s not an uninteresting question, but according the research that’s been done on these things they are quite old (although exactly how old is hard to say). They were not discovered by modern society until 1932, when a pilot happened to look down and notice them.
Nina
I adore your blog and look forward to email alerts like a child anticipating Christmas morning. Hubby and I will be going full time this summer so until then, please know that we live vicariously through your adventures. LOL This post was fascinating!
Well congrats on the upcoming adventure. Sure happy to have you along on mine.
Nina
Hi !!!I Was Talking To My Husband About A Trip To Blythe…. We Are In quartzsite At pipeline. Missed The Show But Still Bunches HerE And Having A Blast. We Are Just Hanging Around For A Call On A New Baby To Be Born In Phx. If You Pass Back This Way Let Us Know!!! We Have To Head Back To Reality By The 16Th…
Sharon
We’re hanging in Q too. Out by Dome Rock at the moment. Not sure how long we’ll stay, but we’re kinda enjoying the post-show quiet out here.
Nina
Would Love To Meet Up And Share A Beer And Visit. This Is Our First Venture And You Would Be The First Folks We Have Met From Blogs And The Boards. We Are Here By The Day Just Waiting For That Phone Call On The Arrival Of The Newest Addition.
Sharon
505 321 8273
Just north of Quartzsite
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/cultural/fisherman.html
We visited the site last year around this time when we were work camping in Blythe. We were also blown away by these strange drawings from the
I honestly had NO IDEA this place existed…and I’ve been traveling through Quartzsite for 5 years!
Nina
The past. What I cannot even begin to figure out is how years of monsoons don’t wash them away. It seems surreal… And sort of magical.
Totally! I find it almost impossible to understand that rain, wind etc. hasn’t erased these. The desert is so changeable, and yet these things have persevered, just amazing!
Nina
There’s a giant sand map built by Gen Patton’s training units during WWII out there someplace too.
It’s still there.
I’ve heard of that!! I’m going to see if I can find it while we’re in the area.
Nina
The relief map at Patton’s camp is nearly gone now, destroyed by vehicles in the ’80’s. There is a fence around it now, but really it was too little, too late. I grew up at the Iron Mtn Pumping Station nearby and spent many wonderful hours looking at the map and all the other very awesome artifacts of his desert training camp. It’s about 90 miles from Blythe. The Patton Museum at Chircaco Summit on Interstate 10 has some great history and is worth the quick stop.
Darn shame about the map. I’m going to look this up. Even if I don’t make it out there this trip, this is being added to my “list” for next time!
Nina
We are not alone. (:))
Totally! And you’ve got to wonder, how did they build figures they could never themselves properly see (the mountains are quite far away here)?
Of course the lines of Nazca are even more impressive, but these are pretty cool nonetheless.
Nina
I’m camped near Blythe – 12 miles from there in Ehrenberg,you drove right past us. I’ve never heard of this either. Thanks for the photos. I’m going to look them up. 🙂
Are you with the RTR out there? I’ve been thinking about heading over to say “hi”, but just haven’t made it yet. If we end up staying at Q I may do that sometime early next week.
Nina
The ancient old folks had some fun with the grandkids sort of finger painting in the desert.
Could well be…tee hee!
Nina
We have seen the intaglio that is near Bouse, but never made it to these. They have been on my list though.
There’s another one near Bouse?!! Ok. Off to do more research! I’m kinda obsessed by these things now.
Nina
Found them! I guess there are even more of these in the SW than I imagined, although the Blythe ones do seem to be the most developed/famous:
http://ronkilber.tripod.com/geoglyphs/SWAviator.htm
Nina
We found the Blythe Intaglios a year ago by being at the Blythe Bluegrass festival in Jan and going to Trip Advisor for suggestions on other things to do there. After seeing the intaglios we drove up as far as we could in our Jeeps till the trail ended. Bluegrass festival in Blythe is a good one.
I’ve heard many good things about the Bluegrass Festival in Blythe. I know several RB buddies who hit it right before the big show here in Quartzsite. One day….
Nina
Been meaning to check these out for a long time.
Well worth it Gaelyn. I was surprised by how large and developed they were. Very impressive.
Nina
In Blythe? I can’t believe it! Been there a bunch of times and never, ever heard of these! Wow…
Yup, exactly the thought I had. Couldn’t believe I’d never heard of these. You’d think such an important historic artifact would be common knowledge.
Nina
Very cool–the Ancient Ones have left us some incredible things. I wonder what we’ll leave them. Our TT has a really crappy stereo but we’re getting KBUX from Q loud & clear. They’re playing great oldies tonight & we’re groovin’ with the tunes, cherry pie from Sweet Darlene’s & ice cream. Life is good.
Oh sweet! I’m going to try and tune in right now!
Nina
Hate to tell you this, but us soldiers have been responsible for a lot of mischief over the years. Back in the late ’60s my team was responsible for many, if not most, of the UFO sightings in SE Arizona. 😉 Just saying. 😀
Pat
I believe you…of course you’re an alien, right? 🙂
Nina
¿Que?
Patricio
I added this to my bucket list for that area. Like you, I was a able to see the Nazca Lines when I was in Peru. About as soon as you mentioned them, I thought of a Pisco Sour, and sure enough, you beat me to it before the end of the post! LOL!
Thanks for posting this, and enjoy that Pisco for me. I’m out. 🙁
Just to prove I really did make a Pisco Sour 🙂
You’re causing me to salivate heavily in my desert over here, Nina. It’s not fair.
I’m headed to a local store to get mine this week, all because of you! 🙂
We’ve seen the Bouse intaglios , between Bouse and Quartzsite, I searched my blog but of course I didn’t call the figures by their appropriate name so I am coming up empty–will search some more later.
I found it online. It’s called the Fisherman Intaglio. If we stay here in Q I’m going off to see it. Apparently Patton’s Rock Alignment is right next door too.
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/cultural/fisherman.html
Nina
Totally cool!! I am so glad someone thought to fence them in for protection. I can’t believe they survived til some did fence them. So glad you included the Google maps photo. Neat find:)
It took me a while to find them on Google satellite. I found two of the areas with 3 fenced-in figures (and we visited all three), but I think I may have missed one area/figure (a larger animal?) and I wasn’t able to find it at the site or in the satellite pic. The trails aren’t really well-marked over there.
Nina
I found the third area!! Finally!! It’s not at all easy to spot on satellite and definitely isn’t on a marked trail in the area, but it’s not too far (~1/2 mile?) from the other two sets. I’ll update the blog post, but here are the coordinates: 33.7957724,-114.536558
Nina
Wow! Pisco Sours are just the thing to celebrate viewing of desert geoglyphs. Very cool. I am adding them to the list for next year’s trip (both the drinks AND the figures).
Excellent! The trip followed by the drink made for a perfect day-outing.
Nina
Been meaning to ask you Nina, what is the origin of your screen name here? (libertatemamo)
It’s a self-made mix of latin words -> libertatem (=liberty) amo (=lover). So, basically it means lover of liberty.
Nina
Very nice, thanks for sharing, and pax vobis! 🙂
We are soooo excited, we will be out there in the spring, we love ancient art, thank you so much for sharing.
Excellent. I think this place is not to be missed. If you love ancient art you’ll be giddy with glee at this place.
Nina
Since you’re in Quartzite, you might want to visit this geocaching site.
The Mystery of Company B
It’s the site of a training base used by Patton’s tank unit during WW II. Interesting story and a great cache.
Wow, what a find!
It’s funny how you remember special events. I can remember the exact feeling flying in a small plane over the Nazca Lines, but can’t remember the date.
I met someone on this trip that said “you must see them”, changed my plans and was so thrilled.
I was taken right back to that moment reading your blog.
Putting this on my must see list!
Blythe and Indio were our “grocery runs” every month when I lived in the desert, so I have 50 years experience in the area, and I NEVER knew these were there! How did they know what the figures would look like from the sky to get them so perfect from the ground??? Love stuff like this and will definitely get out to see them. Thanks Nina!
That’s what gets me too Jodee. The fact that they were able to create such perfect looking figures from a sky view ! Amazing stuff.
Nina
Wow…Blythe??
I’ve probably been through 100 times in my life going back and forth between CA and AZ.
We would ALWAYS make jokes…why do people live here, I would shoot myself if I lived here. When are they going to put a Starbucks in…..LOL!
Thanks so much for showing that Blythe is a “respectable” place after all. 🙂
But, now I’m wondering how do they keep people from wreaking them?
The intaglios are all fenced in, so there is protection around them now. Oh, and there’s a Starbucks now in Blythe too 🙂
Nina
Thanks Nina!
Indians call the USA Turtle Island. If you get way up high the USA looks like a turtle. Did spacemen of long ago give free rides to the Indians? I think so and to honor our Space Brothers we tried to talk to them by making figures on the ground. Or one can by having an Out Of Body Experience fly way up high in spirit and see Mother Earth from a new angle.
As someone who loves a good story, I love it!
Nina
Wow…love that idea, Joe!
Love the area your in.have you ever been to what they call the pumpkin patch?
Not around Q. I know of a Pumpkin Patch near Borrego Springs, but is that the one you mean?
Nina