Marcahuasi facts for kids
Marcahuasi is a special high plateau in the Andes Mountains of Peru. It's about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Lima. This amazing place sits very high up, around 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) above sea level. Marcahuasi is famous for its unique rock formations. Many of these granite rocks look like human faces or different animals!
Contents
Exploring Marcahuasi
First Discoveries
A researcher named Daniel Ruzo first studied Marcahuasi in the 1950s. He explored an area of about 3 square kilometers (1.2 square miles). Here, he found hundreds of strange rock shapes. Most people believe these shapes were formed naturally over time.
What Makes Marcahuasi Special?
Marcahuasi is a plateau, which is a large, flat area of land that is high up. It was formed by ancient volcanoes. The plateau covers about 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles). It is located in the Huarochirí Province of Peru.
Amazing Rock Shapes
The most exciting part of Marcahuasi is its huge granite rocks. Many of these rocks have incredible shapes. Some look like human faces, while others resemble animals or even religious symbols.
People have different ideas about how these shapes were made. Some think they formed naturally from wind and rain over many centuries. This process is called erosion. Others have suggested that ancient people carved these rocks. However, archaeologists agree that the shapes are mainly the result of natural erosion.
Ancient Structures
Besides the natural rock formations, Marcahuasi also has some old buildings. These small structures were built by ancient people. Many of them were used as tombs for burying the dead. Sadly, some of these tombs have been robbed or damaged over time.
On the north side of the plateau, you can find more ruins. There are over 50 structures in different states of decay. The doorways of these buildings are very small, sometimes only about one meter (three feet) high. The buildings are also narrow because the people who built them did not know how to make arches. This meant they had to use flat rocks to cover the spaces. Some of these rocks might have been found nearby.
See also
- Badlands Guardian – A natural landform in Canada that looks like a human head from above.
- 'Face on Mars' – A famous image from Mars that some thought looked like a face.
- Old Man of the Mountain – A rock profile in New Hampshire, USA.
- Old Man of Hoy – A tall rock pillar off the coast of Scotland.
- Pareidolia – This is when your brain sees familiar patterns, like faces, in random things.
- Marcahuasi (Markawasi) Stone Forest, Lima, Peru on Google Maps
Images for kids
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Another view, with the camping zone
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The high lands and the road to the plateau
