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- Overview
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- Unexplained "crop circles", circular and other
geometric patterns of flattened field crops, continued to be reported across
Canada in 1999, as well as a number of other countries, including England,
the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, the USA, Israel and elsewhere. This
past year's "circle season" in Canada, from July to October,
saw developments in the phenomenon on a number of fronts, including the
number of reported formations (20, up from 14 in 1998 and 2 in 1997), size
and complexity (ranging from the common small simple circles to formations
two to three hundred feet in size, some more elaborate than in past years)
and many associated anomalies, notably stalk nodes from some formations
with very significant stretching, swelling and expulsion cavities as compared
to normal control samples, as well as numerous electrical equipment malfunctions
and failures in and around some formations.
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- Formations were reported in six provinces - British Columbia
(1), Alberta (4), Saskatchewan (10), Ontario (3), Quebec (1) and Prince
Edward Island (1). Many excellent firsthand reports came in this year,
from farmers in whose fields the circles were found, thanks to the efforts
of a growing network of CPR-Canada coordinators, field investigators, researchers
and other assistants, as well as a reporting hotline and growing publicity
in various media, etc. As in past years, most formations were reported
near the end of the harvesting season, in late August and September, simply
because that is when most of them are initially discovered by farmers as
they are combining their fields, literally stumbling across them as it
were. Relating to this is the fact that circles in Canada have appeared
virtually across the entire country, which geographically is of course
much larger an area than England (where it is easier to discover and document
new formations almost as soon as they appear, often by pilots, as most
formations there tend to be found within a fifty or so mile radius of the
Stonehenge / Avebury area). Therefore, a significant number of formations
in this country probably never get reported at all, and in fact we know
of several cases in the past where formations were found but not initially
reported to anyone, then only found about weeks, months or even a year
or two later. As mentioned above, thanks to a growing network, hotline,
etc., that situation is now beginning to improve.
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- As has been the case virtually since the phenomenon started
being documented in this country in the 1970's, most circles were reported
in the province of Saskatchewan (ten out of twenty reports this year),
and in many cases (in several provinces) in the very same areas, or in
close proximity to, where they were found last year and previous years.
In one case in Alberta, the second formation found this year just outside
of Edmonton, was in the same end of the same field as a set of simpler
circles last year. It is the consensus now of CPR-Canada and others, that
these localized "hot spots" should be the primary focus for future
surveillance, field studies and other experiments. It is a situation analogous
to southern England, where by far the most formations (in the world as
well as England itself) are found each summer in the Wiltshire and Hampshire
areas.
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- Highlights of the Season
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- The first Canadian reports for this year were a couple
of elaborate pictogram style formations, one just over three hundred feet
long (the longest on record so far in Canada), discovered in a couple of
adjacent wheat fields on the New Credit Reserve near Hagersville, Ontario
on July 22. These were similar to some of the early nineties patterns from
England, and displayed a fairly complex layering of the plants. The formations
drew much attention from the local media and public, as well as the Native
Indian community where they appeared, who actually held cermonies out in
the fields to celebrate their appearance. CPR-Canada and other field investigators
reported malfunctioning camera and video camera equipment inside and over
the formations. Odd small "balls of light" were also reported
in the area by some witnesses around the general time of their appearance,
similar to reports common in England and Europe. Another odd long "script"
kind of design was later reported near Montebello, Quebec, initially found
in mid-July in a cut field, although subsequent correspondence indicated
this may have been done by one of the local farmers for normal advertising
purposes, and not an actual formation.
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- Other reports came in over the next few weeks, from near
Dease Lake, BC (single circle in grass in a very remote location), Ardmore,
Alberta (group of small circles in hay, found to be fungi-related) and
a "celtic cross" formation just outside Edmonton, Alberta on
a research farm run by the University of Alberta (deemed upon ground inspection
to be a probable, though unproven, hoax). A couple small circles were also
found in a blueberry field near Christopher Cross, Prince Edward Island,
the first known case of that kind.
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- Activity was quiet in Saskatchewan, the usual centre
of Canadian reports, until early September, when a number of formations
started being reported by farmers one after another,over the next few weeks.
Some of the largest and most impressive formations ever seen in Canada
showed up in these prairie fields this past summer and fall, notably Neilburg,
where a large one hundred eighty five foot pattern of eleven circles in
wheat was found. This was the first of several formations this year to
exhibit the stretched, swollen and burst stalk nodes. CPR-Canada works
closely with the BLT Research Team (http://www.bltresearch.net), which
has been scientifically documenting these and other anomalies from crop
formations world-wide for the past several years; much more information
on this work is available from BLT and CPR-Canada. It was also a departure
from previous Canadian formations, being more "European" in design,
a sort of simplified version of the famous fractal and Julia Set patterns
in England. A formation of two circles, each with an identical cross appendage
attached, was found near Conquest, Saskatchewan around the same time, close
to where a similar set appeared last year.
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- The main centre of activity in Saskatchewan was around
the town of Midale, (again from where several reports came in last year),
with a total of six reports in this area alone (from early September to
early October), all in wheat, ranging from sets of single circles to an
intricate "medicine wheel" pattern containing complex lay patterns.
Other circles were reported nearby at Weyburn (another group of small random
circles in hay).
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- Also in September, additional reports came in from Alberta,
at Acadia Valley, a very nice one hundred twenty nine foot triple dumbell
pattern, again with the anomalous node effects on plant stalks, and the
second formation just outside Edmonton, a large one hundred ninety one
foot complex seven-circle pattern in barley with radial lay patterns in
all circles; another one of the best of the year, and of any year so far.
Many stretched and ruptured nodes were found in this formation in particular,
and it was also interesting to note that the field itself was thickly infested
with thistle plants, which made sampling (and just walking) difficult.
There was also a report of circles near Drumheller, but these were unable
to be confirmed.
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- Formations continued to be reported into late September
and October, with another set of two beautifully made circles near Viscount,
Saskatchewan, the sixth Midale, Saskatchewan formation (set of three circles
in a line) and "teardrop and diamond" shapes in field of eight
foot tall corn near Lowville, Ontario, in which a number of electrical
equipment malfunctions were reported by another local team.
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- Excellent video footage and photos, both ground and aerial,
as well as ground surveys were obtained for many of the Canadian formations
this year, Alberta and Saskatchewan in particular. Several formations were
also extensively sampled for lab analysis by the BLT Research Team, including
Neilburg, Edmonton #2, Acadia Valley and some of the Midale area formations.
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- In most cases, no direct evidence of hoaxing was found,
with no footprints, no initial tracks leading in or out of circles, lack
of damage to the flattened or surrounding crop, etc. This, taken, with
the aforementioned scientific evidence, would continue to suggest that
there is a genuine phenomeon occurring, in Canada as well as around the
world. Hoaxes (with the percentage of reported formations being man-made
a source of heated debate among many researchers) are usually more obvious
and self-evident upon close examination.
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- As last year, media coverage was more extensive than
in most previous years, including CBC (both radio and television), The
Western Producer, Canada's leading farming and agricultural publication
and a number of other media.
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- Summary
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- In short, 1999 was a banner year for crop circles in
Canada, and may indicate that we need to be keeping a closer eye on what
is going on in the fields of our farmlands. CPR-Canada will be doing just
that, with new projects and initiatives being planned for next summer in
2000, given the increased number of reports the last couple of years. A
print version of this summary, with additional photos, diagrams and newsclippings,
etc. will be published shortly. Proceeds help cover research expenses and
projects.
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- An archive of full reports and images is available on
the CPR-Canada web site (http://www.geocities.com/cpr-canada).
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- For further information:
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- Circles Phenomenon Research Canada Main Office Suite
202 - 2086 West 2nd Avenue Vancouver, BC V6J 1J4 Canada Tel / Fax: 604.731.8522
E-Mail: mailto:psa@direct.ca Web: http://www.geocities.com/cpr-canada
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- This article may be reprinted, as long as copyright credit
is provided.
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- Links to additional and previous news stories, reports
and updates:
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- http://www.geocities.com/cpr-canada/news.html
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- © Circles Phenomenon Research Canada, 1999
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