Duhamel rings, Alberta
In August 1967 a farmer near Duhamel, south of Camrose, found several large flattened rings in his crop after a rainy night, one of the earliest 'crop circle' cases on record.
1967 CE · 52.93, -112.95 · status: disputed
The account
The rings, roughly 10 to 15 m across, were examined by the RCMP and by the Department of National Defence, which collected soil samples. Accounts differ on the number of rings (three to six). The town later put up a roadside sign marking the 'UFO landing site'.
The sceptical view
The tests were inconclusive. Fungal 'fairy rings', whirlwinds and pranks were all proposed, and the case predates the British crop-circle craze that later showed how easily such marks are made.
The researched reading
Real circular marks in a crop, investigated but not explained at the time. Wind, fungal rings or a prank are all plausible; the case is an early example of a mark later shown to be easy to make.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A known natural phenomenon | 30% | Fungal fairy rings change crop growth in circles, and strong local winds or downbursts after heavy rain flatten grain; the marks were found after a rainy night and could have formed any time in the previous weeks. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 26% | Later crop circles proved easy to make with planks and rope; a prank in 1967 cannot be excluded, though it predates the British fad. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 14% | A whirlwind or "plasma vortex" style atmospheric effect was later proposed for early rings; it is poorly supported but would fit circles appearing in a remote field. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 13% | The Department of National Defence filed it as unsolved, the soil tests were inconclusive, and no conventional cause was demonstrated at the time; it keeps a modest unexplained share. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 8% | Recent local UFO sightings framed the rings as landing marks before any test was made. |
| Something known, misidentified | 6% | Machinery turning in the field, or animals circling, can flatten crops in rings; the farmer said his equipment could not have done it. |
| Secret human technology | 3% | Military helicopters or test craft landing in a farm field are unlikely and would have left other traces. |
Official position: The RCMP and Canada’s Department of National Defence examined the site and soil; DND listed the case as unsolved.