On the East coast of Peru, 370 km south of Lima, near the little town Nasca (Nazca), there is a desert-like area. It is a limestone plateau that is strewn with coal dust and small stones. Lines and planes were created in ancient times by removing the surface material to uncover the yellow soil underneath. The lines are many of kilometres long and continue, dead straight along the landscape, regardless of obstacles like river beds and hills. Giant drawings of animals are displayed in the same way. Remarkably, these lines and drawings are so large that they can only be recognised from the sky. 

Some of these lines meet in one central point. Generally this is a shaft which has presumably been linked to other shafts using underground corridors. Besides lines, there are also trapezium shaped designs which seem to suggest that these were runways for airplanes. Some end on a purposefully flattened hill. Archaeologists attribute these remarkable lines to the Nasca culture, but convincing evidence regarding the origins and purpose of these patterns is yet to be provided.