The pre-Inca Nazca culture in southern Peru flourished between 200 BC and 600 AD. It is famous for its giant geoglyphs, which are etched into the Pampa de Nazca, an arid desert plateau between the towns of Nazca and Palpa. The geoglyphs include geometric designs, lines, spirals, triangles, trapezoids, animal figures and anthropomorphic figures. The geoglyphs on the Pampa, which can be fully appreciated only from the air, were created by removing the dark pebbles of the surface and baring the light subsoil, while the figures on the hillside, visible also from ground level, stand out in high relief after removal of the stones from their contours. The geoglyphs in this aerial shot show geometric shapes composed of sprials.