August 15, 2020. (Click image for broad, high-resolution image.)
If you unintentionally came across the town of Huacachina, you may believe it is a mirage. Huacachina is focused around a lagoon lined with lavish plants—all situated in the driest desert worldwide. Snuggled in between the greatest dune in South America, it is the only natural sanctuary on the continent.
On August 15, 2020, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 caught this picture of Huacachina and the surrounding dune. Huacachina lies in southwestern Peru on the edge of the Atacama desert. The town lies about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the city of Ica.
Roughly equating to “weeping woman” in Quechua, Huacachina has a number of mythological origin stories. One legends states a lovely Incan princess called Huacachina was grieving the loss of her fan, and her tears developed the lagoon. One day, a warrior saw her and surprised the princess, who faced the water to conceal for hours. When she attempted to leave, she had actually changed into a mermaid. Another variation states the princess was holding a mirror and appreciating herself when the warrior saw her. When she escaped surprised, the mirror fell and shattered. The glass ended up being the small swimming pool in the desert and taken in the princess, turning her into a mermaid. Many legends state Huacachina still resides in the swimming pool and comes out during the night to lure swimmers.
The sanctuary is really formed by water from underground aquifers that leaks through the sand and assists promote the development of palm trees, eucalyptus, and carob trees around the swimming pool. The lagoon, which just covers about 2 acres, is surrounded by organizations, hotels, and dining establishments on its rim. The sanctuary town has a population of around 100 year-round locals. In current years, water levels in the lagoon have actually reduced due to the drilling of neighboring wells and increased evaporation throughout the hot summertimes. Consequently, the town has actually been feeding water into the lagoon from outdoors sources.
Located about a five-hour bus trip from Lima, Huacachina has actually functioned as a popular traveler location for more than 70 years. The town captivated a number of Peru’s monetary elite in the 1940s, and today captivates 10s of countless travelers each year. Once called the “oasis of America,” Huacachina was included on the 50 Nueva Sol currency note up until 2006.
The skyrocketing dune beyond the sanctuary increase a number of hundred feet in elevation—as high as little mountains. They supply outstanding sandboarding experiences: Adrenaline addicts can move down the dunes like bulbs or snowboarders. Visitors can likewise ride dune buggies throughout the dunes or walking, although the sand makes treking laborious.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing Landsat information from the U.S. Geological Survey. Photograph by Havardtl and utilized under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
