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.
Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United States but that also includes examples from many countries. As a trend, "land art" expanded boundaries of art by the materials used and the siting of the works. The materials used were often the materials of the Earth, including the soil, rocks, vegetation, and water found on-site, and the sites of the works were often distant from population centers. Though sometimes fairly inaccessible, photo documentation was commonly brought back to the urban art gallery.
Time Landscape by Alan Sonfist, at LaGuardia and Houston Streets in Manhattan, 1965-present
Museum paper board left on the bank of the river for 4 days. By Jacek Tylicki, S.W. of Lund, Sweden, 473 X 354 mm. 1981
Bunjil, a geoglyph at the You Yangs, Lara, Australia, by Andrew Rogers. The creature has a wing span of 100 metres and 1500 tonnes of rock were used to construct it.
Satellite view of Roden Crater, the site of an Earthwork in progress by James Turrell, outside Flagstaff, Arizona
