1973 - Point Dume, Malibu, California

The photo to the left is the earliest yet discovered, of something resembling modern-day crop circle photography. It's a full colour, aerial shot of a circle, which also has a long pathway (possibly made by visitors). It was formed in a field of wheat.

Although the photo itself is not clear enough to show the circle floor details, we know it to be a crop circle of the usual type, as there is an eye-witness report available.

Remarks by Robert M Stanley

Robert M Stanley was a child living in the area in 1973, and has gone on record on the website, www.unicusmagazine.com, to provide his account:

"In 1973, a swirling patterned crop circle appeared overnight in a field of wheat overlooking Zuma Beach on the Pacific Coast Highway. The crop circle site was only a three-minute walk from my house near Juan Cabrillo Elementary. I was only 13 years old then, but I sensed that something important was happening."

The fact that Stanley describes it as a "swirling patterned" circle is strongly indicative that the wheat was flattened in the familiar manner. He saw it himself, and judging by the photo, we can see a clear indication that there is a standing wall around the edge, noticable on the far side as we look. It is difficult to see this as anything other than a standard crop circle.

Location

Thanks to the account above, we can identify the field this appeared in. Point Dume is on the western side of Malibu, and the coast road, the Pacific Coast Highway, is visible in the photo. Just a stone's throw from Juan Cabrillo Elementary School ("a three-minute walk from my house") is a cultivated field, in among the houses.

The photo above shows a cliff edge over the highway below, and if we take a view from the road itself, we see the cliff face, which corresponds to the image (allowing for perspective). On the other side of the highway is Zuma Beach.

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