The Beauty of Blythe

#RockSolidHistory from Blythe, CA! This very interesting inland Sonoran Desert community has a varied history.

Once just the land of the Cahuilla people, there were mysterious peoples before them who carved geoglyphs into the desert. There are six Blythe Intaglios in all.
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You can see a human-like one in a photo by Rsfinlayson (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blythe_Intaglios_-_Human_Figure_2.jpg), which can only be fully witnessed from the sky.

According to sources, this portion of the desert, called the Colorado Desert due to the nearby Colorado River, is the only place in North America where they exist.

The fact that the river is nearby was a great attraction for San Francisco businessman Thomas Henry Blythe, who envisioned a large and profitable estate and founded Blythe City in 1877. He did not live to see its completion. Later cattle ranchers moved in, as well as the California Southern Railroad, and then agriculture.

I was unaware of this history as I pulled into Mayflower Park, a sprawling area with camping, trails, small beaches, and picnic pavilions. It just happened to be a hot day and I dipped my feet on the cool Colorado River.

#ColoradoRiver #BlytheCA #BlythIntaglios #SonoranDesert #ColoradoDesert #CahuillaHistory #BlytheCityHistory