WhereIsAtlas · Exploration

The Lost City of Z

The ancient civilization Percy Fawcett vanished searching for in the Amazon — never found, but an enduring mystery

Unknown — The Lost City of Z, an ancient civilization British explorer Percy Fawcett believed existed deep in the Brazilian Amazon, was never found. Fawcett and his party vanished in 1925. Modern archaeology suggests the Amazon did contain large, sophisticated societies — but no single 'lost city of Z.'

In 1925, British explorer Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett vanished into the Amazon rainforest, searching for an ancient civilization he called 'The Lost City of Z.' He believed it existed in the upper Xingu River region of the Brazilian Amazon. His disappearance became one of history's greatest exploration mysteries.

Fawcett was a respected British artillery officer and explorer who had made seven expeditions to South America. Unlike many contemporaries, he respected indigenous peoples. His final expedition, with his son and a companion, disappeared without a trace in the jungle. Endless expeditions and theories followed — was Fawcett killed by tribes, lost, or did he find something?

The Lost City of Z itself was never found. However, modern archaeology has revealed that the pre-Columbian Amazon was home to large, sophisticated societies with complex earthworks, settlements and long-distance trade. The mystery of Fawcett's fate and the true extent of ancient Amazonian civilization endures.

Quick facts

Explorer
Percy Harrison Fawcett
The quest
Find 'the Lost City of Z' in the Amazon
Vanished
1925 (Fawcett + son + companion)
Believed location
Upper Xingu region, Brazil
Found
No single 'lost city of Z' ever found
Modern view
The Amazon did have large ancient societies
Legacy
One of history's great exploration mysteries

Sources

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