Nazca Lines (Nasca Lines)

The Nazca lines were relatively undiscovered until planes flying over the desert in the 1920s saw the lines from the air. Until that time there was some recognition of the hillside drawings near Nazca and Paracas, which can be seen from ground level. However, the huge drawings on the flat desert floor are so large that it requires an aerial view to be appreciated.

From the air it is possible to see 70 different plant and animal drawings as well as hundreds of lines and other geometrical shapes. Some of these lines stretch as long as 10 km. The drawings are spread over hundreds of square kilometers. Most notable among the figures are a lizard measuring 180 m / 580 ft long, condor with a 130 m / 419 ft wingspan, monkey, spider, hummingbird, killer whale, and spider.

Although it is not known exactly who created the lines or how and why, theories hold that the lines were the product of the Paracas and Nazca cultures sometime between 900 BC and 600 AD. Why they were created is the subject of much debate.