Canada has received its most complex formation yet, and in a rare move for the phenomenon, this design also picks up symbolism last seen in the UK in 2000…


One question often asked is whether overseas formations ever replicate designs seen in the circular heartlands of the UK. To date, beyond very simple patterns, there have only been rare occasions where this has happened. A glyph from Oregon, USA in 1997, for instance, was a perfect replica of part of a UK pictogram at West Clandon, Surrey which had appeared just a few days before.

This year, however, another example of globally-spanning near-replication has occurred.

Canada has been receiving a steady stream of new formations for the last few years, ably documented by members of the flourishing Canadian Crop Circle Research Network (CCCRN). On September 2nd, a six-pointed star of circles and intersecting lines appeared at Red Deer, Alberta (see photo, part-harvested). This is a remarkably complex design for this part of the world, which usually receives simpler, though still impressive, offerings.

In his e-mail news posting, Paul Anderson of the CCCRN writes: “The 'Star of David' formation at Red Deer, Alberta is 422 feet in diameter… making this the largest and arguably most complex formation yet found in this country. The large circle in the centre is 106 feet, the smaller circles ranging from 42 to 44 feet. Connecting pathways are about three feet wide.”

With two small exceptions – an outer ring and an extra grapeshot cluster missing in the Canadian version – this is a very close replica of a formation which appeared at Pegsdon Hills, Bedfordshire in England on July 28th 2000 (see photo).

The significance of this, if any, is, of course, open to speculation. The fact remains, however, that such a direct duplication of a design (only seen once in this form in the UK) in another country is a very rare event. The apparently blossoming number and complexity of formations in Canada also make this one of the more important growth regions for the crop circle phenomenon outside England.


[ Thanks to Paul Anderson. For more info on Canadian formations, access CCCRN at:
http://www.geocities.com/cropcirclecanada ]