Historical Marker · No. 101
Giant Desert Figures
Blythe, Riverside County · California
Erected by California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Landmark Foundation, The Bill Beaver Project, and Department of Public Works - Division of Highways, 2023
The plaque says the times of origin and the meaning remain a mystery, which is true only of the people who arrived last. Mojave and Quechan accounts identify the human figures as Mastamho, who made the earth and everything living on it, and the animal figures as Hatakulya, one of two mountain lions present at the creation. Six figures lie across three sites on two mesas, the largest a hundred and seventy-one feet from head to foot. An Army pilot reported them in 1931. They are fenced now, and best seen from the air.
What the plaque says
In 1932, pilot George Palmer spotted six giant figures etched in the ground along the Colorado River. Called intaglios or geoglyphs, these figures range from 95 feet to 171 feet in length: three humanoid, two animals, and one spiral. They were made by scraping away dark desert varnish to expose lighter soil underneath and may range in age from 1540 CE to 900 BCE. The figures share similarities with modern Quechan mythology, chiefly Mastamho, the creator.
Where it stands
33.79998, -114.52757 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Site of Blythe Intake — 4.8 mi