Hill figure
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A hill figure is a large visual representation created by cutting into a steep hillside and revealing the underlying geology. It is a type of geoglyph usually designed to be seen from afar rather than above. In some cases trenches are dug and rubble made from material brighter than the natural bedrock is placed into them. The new material is often chalk, a soft and white form of limestone, leading to the alternative name of chalk figure for this form of art.
The Cerne Abbas Giant chalk figure, near the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, England, is made by a turf-cut.
The Uffington White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire
The 18th-century Westbury White Horse near Westbury, Wiltshire
The Long Man of Wilmington seen from a distance
Geoglyph
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A geoglyph is a large design or motif – generally longer than 4 metres (13 ft) – produced on the ground by durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth. A positive geoglyph is formed by the arrangement and alignment of materials on the ground in a manner akin to petroforms, while a negative geoglyph is formed by removing part of the natural ground surface to create differently coloured or textured ground in a manner akin to petroglyphs.
Geoglyphs on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest
The prehistoric English hill figure of the Uffington White Horse
The Nazca Lines in Peru. This photograph shows a depiction of a hummingbird
Bunjil geoglyph at the You Yangs, Lara, Australia, by Andrew Rogers. The creature has a wingspan of 100 metres and 1,500 tonnes of rock were used to construct it.