Amazing Prehistoric Irrigation System At Cantalloc, Nazca, Peru

MessageToEagle.com – Cantalloc aqueducts are an amazing, highly advanced irrigation system, located about 4 km from the city of Nazca.

It’s an impressive work of the Nazca people during the pre-Columbian period.

It shows highly advanced knowledge in hydraulic engineering that resulted in construction of more than 40 similar aquaducts.

Peru is one of the driest places in the world and the Cantalloc Aqueducts continue to serve their original purpose, which means that local farmers still rely on this series of canals to bring underground running water to the arid region.

Tourists often follow the paths of the aqueducts, built to form giant curves.

Curving waterways ensured that the water would not flow too quickly when the snow melted in the spring, thus preventing flooding.

You can walk into the aqueducts, down spiraling stone steps into the wells of the cooling waterways. These spirals are called ‘ojos’, the Spanish word for ‘eyes’.

The aqueducts require annual maintenance, and the ojos allow the farmers to descend into the aqueducts to clear out the canals.

The aqueducts were cleaned using constructions called ‘eye of water’ (puquios) in order to access water by spiraling wells, all the year especially for agriculture.

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