The View From Above: antelope refuge

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Harney Basin Glyphs, Southeast Oregon

(Click photo to enlarge)

42°33'44.44"N 119°32'35.08"W

These geoglyphs can be found west of Flook Lake, southeast Oregon, in the Harney Basin. The glyphs on the right seem to be a series of five nested concentric rings, with the largest being close to 1000 feet in diameter. There are a multitude of other glyphs nearby, though it's difficult to determine what they are supposed to represent. It's possible the glyphs were formed using the alkali salts readily available from the dry playa lake bed, in much the same way as the chalk geoglyphs of the british isles.

Mysterious Hart Mt. Antelope Refuge "Hotdog"

(Click photo to enlarge)

42°32'42.94"N 119°29'54.69"W

I'm sure there is a very logical and simple explanation for this, whatever it is. What it looks like, is a giant hotdog. It is 355 feet long, and 150 feet wide, situated in the center of what appears to be a playa lake bed (with alkali salt flats) on or near the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge, Oregon. The site is approximately 20 miles east of Chandler State Park. Anyone have any ideas?

Why "View From Above"

I have an unquenchable thirst for exploration and mysteries. But that isn't the only reason for "View From Above." This blog exists primarily thanks to the despicable ignorance and laziness of the many, many people who will post a picture of some anomaly and simply make guesses about it, rather than do five minutes worth of research. I can't count the many times I've seen aerial pictures of "UFOs parked in a row on the beach" (They're beach umbrellas, you dork!) or questions like, "What's this aircraft doing sitting in the middle of the desert?" (It's a military firing range. They use junk aircraft as targets. Duh!) The unwillingness on the part of most people to do even a minimal amount of research just boggles the mind.

Another pet peeve of mine is the practice of posting an interesting site without a precise location. I don't know if it's laziness, oversight, or a desire to hoard information, but it's irritating as hell to me. That's why mosts of my posts will always include coordinates to the site.

I hope you'll enjoy perusing the sites I've listed. I can't take credit for being the first to "find" most of them, but I will do my best to let you know what I find out about them!

Michael Makai