Amazon Lost Cities: LIDAR Reveals Million-Person Civilizations. Amazon Rainforest covers 7 million square kilometers, nearly 50% of South America LIDAR scans have revealed cities with estimated populations over 1 million people, comparable to ancient Rome Cities included highway systems, step pyramids, raised plazas, geoglyphs, and astronomical observatories

LIDAR scans have revealed massive urban centers hidden beneath the Amazon rainforest, with evidence of sophisticated civilizations far more complex than previously understood. These cities featured highway systems, raised plazas, and geoglyphs. Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana navigated the Amazon in 1541 documenting large settlements. 🏛️🌿

Key facts verified:

- Amazon Rainforest covers approximately 5.5 million square kilometers, covering about 40% of South America

- LIDAR scans have revealed interconnected networks of cities with populations in the hundreds of thousands in areas like Ecuador's Upano Valley and Bolivia

- Cities included highway systems, raised plazas, geoglyphs, reservoirs, and agricultural systems spanning thousands of years

- Francisco de Orellana documented settlements along the Amazon in 1541

- Historical accounts describe abandoned settlements with infrastructure

Key Facts

  • Amazon Rainforest covers 7 million square kilometers, nearly 50% of South America
  • LIDAR scans have revealed cities with estimated populations over 1 million people, comparable to ancient Rome
  • Cities included highway systems, step pyramids, raised plazas, geoglyphs, and astronomical observatories
  • Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana documented large settlements along the Amazon in 1541
  • A 1753 Portuguese document describes an abandoned gated city with stone houses, temples, and paved roads
  • Percy Fawcett searched for the Lost City of Z in the Amazon region
  • Ancient Amazonians created 'terra preta' (black soil) gardens over 10,000 years ago
  • Archaeologists believe many civilizations rose and fell in the Amazon before European arrival

Source: Luke Caverns on Ancient South America (2+ hours) by Luke Caverns