The hyperarid coastal desert of northern Peru is a thin strip of extreme aridity located between the Pacific Ocean and the high Andes. Despite the fact that there is only on average a few mm of rain each year, people have lived in this region for many thousands of years. They were supported by abundant marine resources plus verdant stream valleys that drained the Andes every 40 to 100 km along the length of the deserts. These remarkably lush strips of green are in marked contrast to the complete lack of visible life elsewhere across the desert!

This photo (taken at 9ºS) shows the Andes in the background, some granitic foothills in the foreground, and a broad alluvial fan in the center (colored deep red by desert varnish). The Pacific Ocean is only about 30 km west. There is a modern road cutting across the fan; it is marked by small roadcuts. The remarkable feature of this photograph is the fainter forked lines on the fan, which mark an "Inca Highway" that in fact was made by the Chimú Indians. The Incas did eventually conquer this area, but only shortly before the Spaniards began their conquest in 1535. The Chimú roads are luxuriously wide (roughly 90 feet) and were made by moving the larger rocks off to the sides of the roads. The color contrast results from the exposure of the silty sediment beneath the desert pavement. Each segment of the road is remarkably straight and along the roadway are mysterious small square stone 'foundations'. The Chimu did not have the wheel and the function of such wide, straight roads, if in fact they are roads, as well as these curious square 'foundations', is unknown.

Also unknown is why the entire alluvial fan is littered with broken pottery dating back more than 1000 years. The fan is several miles from the nearest water and the roads do not lead to any obvious sites of former inhabitation. The mountain upon which this photo was taken is also heavily littered with broken pottery, but a substantial stone platform suggests ceremonial purposes. Were the 'Inca Highways' and the broken pottery across the fan also ceremonial, or were they the result of ancient sports fans rioting across the desert? If only Leonard Nemoy were here to clue us in.