AltaVista was one of the first search engines on the internet, launched in 1995. It was known for its fast search capabilities and user-friendly interface, allowing users to search for web pages, images, and other content efficiently. AltaVista quickly gained popularity and became a leading search engine during the late 1990s. In 2003, Yahoo! acquired AltaVista, but its prominence declined as other search engines, like Google, emerged and improved their algorithms. Eventually, AltaVista was shut down in 2013, marking the end of an era for early internet search technology.