Cerro Pintados is the largest collection of geoglyphs in South America, with over 450 figures spread along 4km of hillside. The site is 94km south of Iquique not far from the Pan American Highway Ruta 5. It is thought they were made between 700 and 1500AD. The site is next to the Salar de Pintados from which nitrate minerals were once extracted. Rocky surface mineral deposits can be seen in the foreground, these would have been removed to extract the nitrate ore or caliche from underneath for processing.