Archaeological Research Facility

The valley of the lower Colorado River is well known for the immenseoutline figures of gravel which occur on its river terraces. Despite thisfact, only a few archaeologists have shown an interest in them, and as aresult there is little detailed information available concerning them.This paper is designed to sumarize briefly and to note the present stateof such information in order to facilitate future research.The two largest groups of gravel outlines yet discovered are the"giant desert figures" and the "mystic maze." The "giant desert figures"site is located approximately sixteen miles north of Blythe, California,and is clearly pictographic in nature. The "mystic maze" is situatedacross the river from Topock, Arizona, and like a number of the othergravel constructions of the region, may or may not be pictographic innature. However, in the light of presently available information, it doesnot seem practical to attempt to decide which gravel alterations are orare not pictographic. The locations of all known sites are indicated onthe distribution map. As can be seen, many such sites have been reportedsome distance from the lower Colorado River valley, particularly in theCalifornia deserts.