Editing Crop circle (section)

{{Short description|Pattern in a crop field}}
{{Redirect|Crop circles|other uses}}
{{For|the irrigation method that produces circular fields of crops|center pivot irrigation}}
{{Pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2024}}

[[File:CropCircleW.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Aerial view of crop circles in Switzerland]]

A '''crop circle''', '''crop formation''', or '''corn circle''' is a pattern created by flattening a [[crop]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/crop-circle?q=crop+circle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206022628/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/crop-circle?q=crop+circle|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 February 2015|title=crop circle - Definition of crop circle in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries - English}}</ref> usually a [[cereal]]. The term was first coined in the early 1980s.<ref>Colin Andrews, Pat Delgado ''Circular Evidence: A Detailed Investigation of the Flattened Swirled Crops''. Phanes Press, 1991. {{ISBN|0-7475-0635-3}}</ref> Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the sort of thing done in [[hoax]]es" by [[Taner Edis]], professor of physics at [[Truman State University]].<ref>Edis, Taner. ''[[iarchive:sciencenonbelief0000edis f7z7/page/138/mode/2up|Science and Nonbelief]]''. Prometheus Books. 2008, p. 138. {{ISBN|1-59102-561-3}} "Skeptics begin by pointing out that many paranormal claims are the result of fraud or hoaxes. Crop circles—elaborate patterns that appear on fields overnight—appear to be of this sort. Many crop circle makers have come forth or have been exposed. We know a great deal about their various techniques. So we do not need to find the perpetrator of every crop circle to figure out that probably they all are human made. Many true believers remain who continue to think there is something paranormal—perhaps alien—about crop circles. But the circles we know all fall within the range of the sort of thing done in hoaxes. Nothing stands out as extraordinary."</ref> 

Although obscure natural causes or [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] origins of crop circles are suggested by [[Fringe theory|fringe theorists]],<ref name="parker2000human">{{Cite journal |title=Human science as conspiracy theory |author=Parker, Martin |journal=The Sociological Review |volume=48 |number=S2 |pages=191–207 |year=2000 |publisher=Wiley Online Library |doi=10.1111/j.1467-954x.2000.tb03527.x |s2cid=145482575}}</ref> there is no scientific evidence for such explanations, and all crop circles are consistent with human causation.<ref>Hines. T. ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books, 2003. pp. 295–96. {{ISBN|1-57392-979-4}}</ref><ref>Soto, J. ''Crop Cirles''. In Michael Shermer (ed.). ''The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience''. ABC-CLIO. pp. 67–70. {{ISBN|1-57607-653-9}}</ref><ref>Radford, B. [http://www.livescience.com/26540-crop-circles.html "Crop Circles Explained"]. LiveScience.</ref> In 1991, two hoaxers, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, took credit for having created over 200 crop circles throughout England,<ref name="nyt1991" /> in widely-reported interviews. The number of reports of crop circles increased substantially after interviews with them. In the United Kingdom, reported circles are not distributed randomly across the landscape, but appear near roads, areas of medium to dense population, and cultural heritage monuments, such as [[Stonehenge]] or [[Avebury]].<ref name="northcote">{{cite web|last=Northcote |first=Jeremy |url=https://www.siue.edu/GEOGRAPHY/ONLINE/Northcote06.pdf |title= Spatial distribution of England's crop circles |website=[[Southern Illinois University Edwardsville|siue.edu]] |access-date=1 February 2011}}</ref> They usually appear overnight.<ref name="Taylor2011">{{cite journal |author=Richard Taylor |date=August 2011 |title=Coming soon to a field near you |url=https://blogs.uoregon.edu/richardtaylor/files/2015/12/CropCirclesphysicsworld-1o814jx.pdf |department=Feature: Crop circles |journal=Physics World |volume=24 |issue=8 |page=26 |doi=10.1088/2058-7058/24/08/35 |bibcode=2011PhyW...24h..26T |ref={{harvid|Taylor|2011}}}}</ref>{{sfn|Margry & Roodenburg|2007|pages=140–142}} Nearly half of all crop circles found in the UK in 2003 were located within a {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} radius of the [[Avebury]] stone circles.<ref name="northcote" />

In contrast to crop circles or crop formations, archaeological remains can cause [[cropmark]]s in the fields in the shapes of circles and squares, but these do not appear overnight, and are always in the same places every year.