August 15, 2020. (Click image for larger, higher-resolution image.)
If you accidentally stumble upon the town of Huakachi, you think it is a mirage. Centered around the Lugan of Huakachi, which has succulent vegetation, located in the driest desert in the world. The only natural oasis in the continent struck between the largest sand dunes of South America.
On August 15, 2020, the Professional Land Imager (OLI) on Landset 8 captured this image of Huakachi and the surrounding sand dunes. Huacachi’s Atacama is located on the edge of the desert in southwestern Peru. The city is located about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the city of Ica.
There are many myths in Huakachina, roughly a translation of “crying woman” in Quechua. One of the legends says that a beautiful Inkan princess named Huakachi was mourning the loss of her lover and her tears created a lagoon. One day, a warrior saw her and startled the princess, who ran into the water to hide for hours. When he tried to say goodbye, she was transformed into a mermaid. The second version says that when the princess held a mirror and when the warrior saw her she was admiring him. When she ran away in surprise, the mirror fell and made a noise. Glass became a small pool in the desert and ate the princess, turning her into a mermaid. Many legends say that Huakachi still lives in the pool and comes out at night to seduce swimmers.
Oasis is actually formed from the water of underground aquatic animals that scatter through the sand and helps promote the growth of palm trees, eucalyptus and cherub trees around the pool. The lagoon, which covers an area of only 2 acres, is surrounded by its businesses, hotels and restaurateurs. Oasis has a population of 100-year-old residents around the city. In recent years, water levels in the lagoon have dropped due to drilling of nearby wells and an increase in evaporation during hot summers. As a result, the lake is being flooded from sources outside the city.
Located about a five-hour bus ride from Lima, Huakachina has served as a popular tourist destination for over 70 years. The city entertained many of Peru’s financial elite in the 1940s and today entertains thousands of tourists every year. Once known as the “Oasis of America”, Huakachi’s 50 New Soul currency notes were featured until 2006.
Outside the oasis, the sand dunes rise several hundred feet high, like small mountains. They offer excellent sandboarding adventures: adrenaline junkies can slide down hills like tubers or snowboarders. Visitors can also run sand dunes around hills or hikes, although sand makes hiking harder.
NASA U.S. Earth Observatory Image by Len Ren Dolphin, using landset data from the Geological Survey. Photographs and Creative Conscious Attribution International.0 are used by Hawertal under an international license.
