- Original Caption Released with Image:
-
The Nasca Lines are located in the Pampa region of Peru, the desolate
plain of the Peruvian coast 400 km south of Lima. The Lines were first
spotted when commercial airlines began flying across the Peruvian desert
in the 1920's. Passengers reported seeing 'primitive landing strips' on
the ground below. The Lines were made by removing the iron-oxide coated
pebbles which cover the surface of the desert. When the gravel is removed,
they contrast with the light color underneath. In this way the lines were
drawn as furrows of a lighter color. On the pampa, south of the Nasca
Lines, archaeologists have now uncovered the lost city of the
line-builders, Cahuachi. It was built nearly two thousand years ago and
was mysteriously abandoned 500 years later. This ASTER sub-image covers an
area of 14 x 18 km, was acquired on December 22, 2000, and is located at
14.7 degrees south latitude and 75.1 degrees west longitude.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
- Image Credit:
-
NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Image Addition Date:
-
2001-10-22
|