Between the Cordillera Occidental and the Pacific Ocean, a wider coastal piedmont zone consists of a valley separated from the sea by low hills. The arid character of this lowland strip is interrupted by green valleys watered by streams descending from the highlands, surrounded by now dry alluvial fans. These flat areas (Pampas) were easily accessible from the river valleys. The Nazca valley and its tributaries was one of the most important concentrations of coastal population in southern Peru in early times.

This image shows the confluence of the Ingenio River with the Nazca River, and the area of the Nazca Pampa which they enclose, set back from the sea.

Two sets of artificial lines are visible on this image of the area between the Rio Ingenio and the Rio Nazca: the Pan-American Highway (view, inset), and the 'Nazca Lines'.

A closer view shows the network of artificial lines, many with astronomical orientations and aligned on low hills, which criss-cross the Pampa between the Ingenio and Nazca rivers. The lines were processional paths, created by clearing the scatter of stones on the desert surface.

Pampas Below the 30m limit of resolution of this satellite imagery, the outlines of sacred animals are visible on aerial photographs of the Nazca Pampa, four of which are shown here: 1. The Monkey.

Pampas Below the 30m limit of resolution of this satellite imagery, the outlines of sacred animals are visible on aerial photographs of the Nazca Pampa, four of which are shown here: 2. The Cormorant.

Pampas Below the 30m limit of resolution of this satellite imagery, the outlines of sacred animals are visible on aerial photographs of the Nazca Pampa, four of which are shown here: 3. The Humming-bird.

Pampas Below the 30m limit of resolution of this satellite imagery, the outlines of sacred animals are visible on aerial photographs of the Nazca Pampa, four of which are shown here: 4. The Condor.