geoglyph

noun

Etymology: From geo- (“the Earth; geography”) + glyph (“figure carved in relief or incised”), modelled after petroglyph.

1. A large-scale drawing or image made on the ground by arranging lines of stones, scratching the earth, etc., and often only fully visible from a distance or the air.

   “These, and almost 100 others stretched along the Colorado River in the California and Arizona deserts, are called geoglyphs or earth carvings by scientists. [...] Although their exact purpose and meaning are still a mystery, we do know these large and delicate geoglyphs are easily damaged by vehicles breaking through the desert surface and obliterating the figures.”

   “Geoglyphs usually are found on fans sparse of rock, but what seems the oldest of the scraped designs are on cobbled terraces at Denning Springs, Ocotillo, Death Valley, and above the Mojave River.”