The Nazca Lines are a series of ancient geoglyph

Geoglyph

A geoglyph is a large design or motif produced on the ground and typically formed by clastic rocks or similarly durable elements of the geography, such as stones, stone fragments, gravel, or earth...

s located in the Nazca Desert

Nazca Province

The Nazca Province is one of five provinces of the Ica Region of Peru. The capital of the province is the city of Nazca.- Political division :The Nasca Province is divided into five districts , each of which is headed by a mayor :...

 in southern Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

. They were designated a UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 in 1994. The high, arid plateau stretches more than 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) between the towns of Nazca

Nazca

Nazca is a system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru, and the name of the region's largest existing town in the Nazca Province. It is also the name applied to the Nazca culture that flourished in the area between 300 BC and AD 800...

 and Palpa

Palpa, Peru

Palpa is a town in Southern Peru, capital of the province Palpa in the region Ica.-References:...

 on the Pampas de Jumana about 400 km south of Lima

Lima

Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...

. Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas motifs

Paracas culture

The Paracas culture was an important Andean society between approximately 800 BCE and 100 BCE, with an extensive knowledge of irrigation and water management. It developed in the Paracas Peninsula, located in what today is the Paracas District of the Pisco Province in the Ica Region...

, scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture

Nazca culture

The Nazca culture was the archaeological culture that flourished from 100 to 800 CE beside the dry southern coast of Peru in the river valleys of the Rio Grande de Nazca drainage and the Ica Valley...

 between 400 and 650 AD.