When flying from
Denver to
Des Moines this past Tuesday, I was looking out the window from my First Class seat (1) at the ground below
and noticed patterns across the landscape that were formed by different conservation practices such as
contour farming and
buffer strips. These are used by farmers to protect their fields and keep the soil from eroding and polluting streams and rivers. The patterns reminded me of the
Nazca Lines - ancient giant desert drawings in Peru (2), and similar reliefs made by other ancient peoples such as the
Blythe Intaglio left behind in a California desert (3).
But what if the patterns in these Iowa farm fields were designed with more than land stewardship in mind - that there were deeper meanings behind each that the farmer-sculptors know and that are waiting for other viewers to reveal? Where the life experiences and dreams of farmers are sketched with tractors and plows, with contrasting hues made from earth and trees and creeks - left behind for future inhabitants of this landscape to ponder and admire.
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Iowa Geoglyphs
A sampling of the modern geoglyphs that can be seen across Iowa and neighboring states are shown here, with an explanation of the history behind the designs. With each Iowa Geoglyph is a matching image from the real world that was used for inspiration. These artists have coined the term
Neo-Ancient to describe their general style of work.
Remembrance of Trees. Iowa was once part of the vast North American hardwood forest east of the Mississippi where
Passenger Pigeons and
Running Buffalo Clover were once abundant, but now gone - like the way of trees, only remembrances
of times past. Most of Iowa is now is used for agriculture - crops such as
corn and
soybeans cover 60% of the state, pastures and hay fields of
alfalfa with some prairie and wetlands cover 30%, and forests cover only 7% of the land. About 95 percent of the state's
prairie pothole wetlands have been drained, and over half of the original
forest has been cleared. These changes and other factors such as
channelization of streams and rivers, soil erosion, development and urban expansion, and intensive row crop agriculture have contributed to the loss or degradation of suitable habitat for numerous plant and animal species. This early Iowa-period geoglyph is done in the style of the Nazca Lines, and was used as a pattern in the construction of the metal tree art in the
Sculpture Garden next to the Smithsonian Museum of Art in Washington, D.C.
Twister. The western half of Iowa is a part of the North American
Tornado Alley. In recognition of the many tornadoes that touch
down in Iowa each year, this managed riparian zone is sculpted using a unique style similar to the Blythe Intaglios to resemble a typical funnel cloud of an
Iowan F2 tornado.
Tornadoes are caused when a cloud of the right size precipitates rapidly releasing heat, which causes it to rise, and creates a vacuum under it - air rushing under it creates the vortex. Although tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, these destructive forces of nature are found most frequently in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains during the spring and summer months. In an average year, 800 tornadoes are reported nationwide.
Terrestrial Homage to the Extra Terrestrial. This whimsical geoglyph was produced using a primitive style of the Blythe Intaglios
tradition to honor the
Steven Spielberg classic film
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Though less than 500 feet tall, the image is easily seen from the air while flying cross-country. This 1982 American science fiction film grossed more than $790-million, far more than the farmer-creator of the geoglyph has received from charging for autumn hay ride viewings.
The Kelp Garden. While vacationing after the soybean harvest in 1997, this farmer was inspired by the enchanting
kelp forests along the Pacific Coast of California.
Giant kelp (
Macrocystis 
pyrifera) is a species of marine alga found from the central California coast to Baja California. Giant kelp prefers depths less than 120 feet, temperatures less than 72° F, hard substrate such as rocky bottoms, and bottom light intensities above 1% that of the surface. The traditional Blythe Intaglios style is used here to depict, though primitive, a sense of the kelp swaying in the currents of sea water coming and going with the tide through Monterey Bay.
More information about giant kelp can be accessed on the Web.
Integrated Circuit Board. The son of a farmer who insisted his children go to college and not come back to the farm created this geoglyph. Done by the artist in the style of the classic Nazca Lines to represent his
electrical engineering 
degree received from Kansas State University, the faux
circuit board design was applied across parts of five quarter sections of fields near Manhattan, Kansas. After returning to the farm after graduation, the father thought his son would have been far better off had he gone to work for a high tech company - particularly because of the erratic way he drove
large tractors and implements to form the design soon after returning home. However, upon seeing the designs from the air, the father was quite impressed and glad that his son was to continue as the fourth generation of family farmers on the homestead.
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(1) United Airlines now gives automatic
complimentary upgrades if you have enough miles and they have an empty seat. I have done more sitting in
First Class the past six months than I have for all the flying I have done in the past years. Typically I sit in
Economy Class, and usually over one of the wings of the plane - I think the Government fare tickets are set up that way; or in the back of the plane.
(2) The Nazca Lines are a series of
ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert of Peru. The high, arid plateau stretches more than 50 miles between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana. Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas motifs, scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 200 BCE and 700 CE. The hundreds of individual figures range in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks or orcas, llamas, and lizards.
The lines are shallow designs made in the ground by removing the ubiquitous reddish pebbles and uncovering the whitish ground beneath. Hundreds are simple lines or geometric shapes; more than seventy are designs of animal, bird, fish or human figures. The largest figures are over 660 ft across. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but they generally ascribe religious significance to them, as they were major works that required vision, planning and coordination of people to achieve.
(3) The Blythe Intaglios or Blyth 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 north of downtown Blythe just west of U.S. Highway 95 near the Colorado River. The largest human figure is 171 feet long. The intaglios are best viewed from the air.
The geoglyphs or intaglios were created by scraping away layers of darker rocks or pebbles to reveal a strata 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 they were not observed by non-Indians until the 1930s, when pilot flew along the area. This set of geoglyphs includes several dozen figures and a labyrinth. These geoglyphs are no doubt ceremonial, and the process of their creation, possibly by ritual dancing, might transcended the end product in importance. They are believed to date from 1000 CE but could range from 450 to 10,000 years old, which makes them possibly more ancient than the well-known 5000 year old
Stonehenge and its still
newly discovered secrets.
Mojave and
Quechan Indians most likely created them. Modern Quechan
tribe information.
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Note: I don't know why I am getting a lot of hits on this site - fictional accounts are given for the source and related information about the Iowa geoglyphs.
the sweet revenge of electric currents running through two metal surfaces with a small gap in between that is just the right size for a mosquito's body to complete the circuit - the Flowtron Blacklight Bug Zapper is just the right device to deliver with satisfaction.
