Giant Desert Figures
Times of origin and meaning of these giant figures, the largest 167 feet long, smallest 95 feet, remain a mystery. There are three figures, two of animals and a coiled serpent, and some interesting lines. (Sandstone pebbles glazed on one side with "desert varnish" are strewn over the surface of the mesa and have been moved away, leaving the earth forming the figures, the pebbles being placed in windrows about the edge as an outline.)
1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.
Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)
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