Geography of Peru

Peru is located in the central and western part of South America (UTM N7970840.422; E552505.422; ZONE 18). It is made up of a territory with a continental surface of 1,285,216.60 km², which represents 0.87% of the planet, which is distributed in the coastal region 136,232.85 km² (10.6%), Andean region 404,842.91 km² (28.4%) and the Amazon region 62% (782,880.55 km²); the northern end of the Peruvian territory is the Putumayo river at 0°02´00" southern latitude, the southern end is on the seashore in Tacna (La Concordia point) at 18°21'03" south latitude; the eastern end is on the Heath River in Madre de Dios at 68°39´00" east longitude and the western end is located in Caleta Punta Balcones in Pariñas, Talara, Piura at 81°19'35'.

The Peruvian Sea or Mar de Grau is the part of the Pacific Ocean that extends along the Peruvian coast in an extension of 3080 km and a width of 200 miles offshore. Its great ichthyological wealth is the result of the Humboldt and El Niño marine currents. Its sovereign sea has a maritime area of 991,194.97 km², being a country with great hydrological potential.

The highest peak in Peru is Huascarán in the Cordillera Blanca, with a height of 6768 masl; the lowest zone is the Sechura depression at -34 m.a.b.l.; the deepest valley is the Cotahuasi canyon, even surpassing the famous Colorado canyon; The longest river in Peru is the Ucayali River (a tributary of the Amazon River with 1,771 km in length; the highest navigable lake in the world is Lake Titicaca in Puno/Peru with 8,380 km² and the largest island on the Peruvian coast is Isla San Lorenzo in Callao with 16.48 km² is the third largest country in South America.

Geologically, Peru is a young country in much of its territory. 42% of its surface, the Andean system and the coast, arose in the Mesozoic Era, between 130 and 65 million years ago, as a result of tectonic upheavals caused by the subduction of the Nazca plate in the South American plate.

It rises over a territory affected by subduction of the Nazca oceanic plate under the South American continental plate. The intensity of the clash between both masses produced, from the Tertiary Era, the Andes mountain range, a spectacular and practically unique mountain system that structures the country into three very different geographical regions: coast, mountains and jungle.

Territorial delimitation

Map of Peru. 1683. French version.

Borders

The current border limits of Peru are the product of a consolidation process of many years, which began in 1821, based on the Uti possidetis iure of 1810 and they end up establishing themselves in the 20th century. The diplomatic efforts of the Peruvian Foreign Ministry were not unrelated to this process and, in some cases, led to armed conflicts, with the Armed Forces taking center stage. Until the 19th century, the Army, the Navy and the National Police played an outstanding role; in the conflicts that took place in the XX century, so did the Air Force. The borders thus configured, whether or not there was a warlike confrontation, culminated in a series of treaties, whether of Peace, Friendship and Limits or of Navigation and Commerce, as is the case of the treaties and agreements with the neighboring Amazonian countries.

Peru is one of the twelve independent countries of South America. It is located in the central and western part of this part of America. It has a continental area of 1,285,215.6 km² and a perimeter of 7,073 km of land border line, which is shared with all its South American neighbors. The longest border length and one of the most rugged is with Brazil, which has a length of 2,822.496 km between the mouth of the Yavari river and the mouth of the Yaverija river in the Acre river and develops entirely in the Amazon jungle, and the shortest, with Chile barely 169 km from the Ancomarca plateau to the point called Concordia on the shore of the beach in the Pacific Ocean. The total limits according to their greater or lesser length are:

Extreme Points

The extreme points of Peru are the following:

Relief

Physical map of Peru.

The Andes cross Peru from north to south, conditioning the climate and orography of the country with their imposing presence. Although the Porculla pass marks its lowest point at 2,137 meters above sea level, the Cordillera Blanca and the Cordillera de Huayhuash house the highest peaks in Peru in the northern sector. From the Pasco knot, the central Andes widen and present plateaus between the mountain ranges and peaks such as those of Coropuna, Ampato or Salcantay. The Collao plateau, at 3600 masl and the Volcanic mountain range, with the snow-capped Misti, Pichu Pichu, and Ubinas mountains, make up the southern sector of the Peruvian Andes starting from the Vilcanota knot.

The Cordillera Blanca is the highest tropical chain in the world. Among its snow-capped peaks, which exceed 6,000 meters above sea level, stands out the Huascarán, the highest mountain in Peru. In addition, it is worth noting the presence of Alpamayo, considered the most beautiful snow-capped mountain in the world, and Pastoruri, very frequented by tourists. The Cordillera Blanca is 250 km long and crosses the department of Ancash. The Pelagatos peak, to the north, and the Tuco knot, to the south, establish its limits. Together with the Cordillera Negra, lower in altitude and without snow-capped peaks, it forms the attractive Callejón de Huaylas, through which the Santa River flows.

Climate

The fact that Peru is near the equator would indicate that its climate should be eminently tropical, however two factors significantly alter the climate. In the first place, the existence of the high Cordillera de los Andes parallel in South America to the Pacific Ocean and, secondly, the cold Peruvian or Humboldt Current that manifests itself from south to north up to latitude 5° and collides with the El Niño current on the coasts of Piura and Tumbes up to latitude 3.2°, south of the equator. These accidents, plus the anticyclone of the South Pacific in this part of the continent, cause a decrease in average annual temperatures of about ten degrees Celsius on the coast and a great variety of simultaneous climates throughout the country, which has placed Peru as one of the of the countries with the greatest variety of climates in the world.

The Coast

When the climatic phenomenon known as El Niño occurs, that is, when the sea temperature exceeds 27 °C during the summers, the climate of the entire coast varies substantially, presenting floods that cause damage of various kinds and the climate becomes tropical, manifesting not only in the solar radiation that characterizes the summers and springs, but also in the vegetation, as occurs in the departments of Piura and Tumbes.

The central and southern areas of the coast have an arid subtropical or desert climate, with an average temperature of 18 °C and annual rainfall of 150 mm. On the other hand, the northern area has a tropical arid climate, with an average temperature above 24 °C and rains during the summer. If the El Niño phenomenon occurs, the average temperature of the entire coastline can reach up to 40 °C and rainfall increases significantly in the northern and central coastal areas. The riparian relief includes ecological regions such as the coastal desert, the equatorial dry forest, and a small portion of tropical forests northwest of Tumbes. Among the geographical features that can be found in this region are cliffs, peninsulas, bays and beaches.

The Sierra

The Sierra has a varied high mountain climate that is counter-seasonal with respect to the coast. In other words, while on the coast it is summer, in the mountains it is "winter" (To make the comparison, since in reality it will be summer in the entire southern hemisphere) and vice versa, this is because December to April is the rainy season. The different heights, their reliefs that generate microclimates and the variations of the amounts of precipitations according to the zones influence additionally. The temperature oscillation between day and night is more pronounced. There are areas, such as the Cordillera Blanca, which owes its name to the perpetual snow and glaciers.

The Jungle

The Peruvian Amazon jungle, the largest of the three regions, with 782,880.55 km² represents 62% of the Peruvian territory, appears to the east of the Andean mountain range. It is formed by the high or foggy jungle, with a pronounced unevenness, and by the Amazonian plain, below 400 meters above sea level. Only 10% of Peruvians reside in it.

• Jungle and Amazonian plains. In the jungle eyebrow, the climate is rather tropical and subtropical. The jungle itself, by its own nature and location away from the influences of the coast and close to the equatorial line, has a tropical climate with rains about 200 days a year. The permanent heat contributes to the rapid evaporation of the rains and therefore to a humidity of different smells, depending on the plants or trees.

The Sea

Hydrography

Peru contains 4% of the planet's fresh water. This volume is unevenly distributed in three slopes, the Pacific, the Amazon and Lake Titicaca, bounded by the Andes. The giant Amazon is also born in the second of these basins, which, with its 6872 km, is the longest and mightiest river in the world. Its slope occupies 75% of the territory.

Lake Titicaca is the largest spring in South America, with 8,380 km². This tectonic lake is shared by Peru and Bolivia. Twenty rivers pour their waters into it; among them, the Ramis, the Ilave and the Huancané, on the Peruvian side. Record waves and tides; It has 36 islands and influences the climate of the Collao plateau, due to its average temperature of 12 °C. Lake Titicaca formed, together with the Arapa lagoon and Lake Poopó (Bolivia), the great Ballivián lake of the Peruvian highlands.

Natural regions

See also: The eight natural regions of Peru and traditional regions of Peru

Natural regions of Peru according to the parameters of Javier Pulgar Vidal.

When the Spanish arrived in Peru, they divided their territory into three large regions: the Coast, which is located next to the Pacific Ocean; the Sierra, which is surrounded by the great Andean heights, and the Mountain or Jungle, which is located in the lush jungles of the Peruvian Amazon.

Years later, the geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal, based on his constant studies of the Peruvian territory, proposed the creation of eight natural regions in order to create a physiographic map that would be more in line with the biographical reality of the Peruvian territory. In 1941, the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History approved this motion.

The eight natural regions are:

1. Costa or chala. It is located between the Pacific Ocean to 500 msnm from the border of Ecuador to the border with chile.
2. Yunga.(yunka) in two forms, depending on the flank of the Andes Mountain Range in which they are found: Yunga Maritime, from 500 msnm altitude to 2300 msnm above sea level, in the western flank and Yunga Fluvial, from 500 msnm to 1400 msnm
3. Quechua (qechwa). It extends from 2300 msnm to 3500 msnm altitude on the two flanks of the mountain range
4. Suni (huni). It is located between 3500 msnm and 4100 msnm above sea level.
5. Puna or Jalca (hallqa). It is between 4100 msnm and 4800 msnm altitude occupying the geographical area of the high Andean plateaus
6. Janca or cordillera (hanka hirka). Located more than 4800 msnm above sea level.
7. High Forest or Rupa-rupa Region. It extends between 500 msnm and 1400 msnm of altitude on the eastern flank of the Andes Cordillera.
8. Low forest or Omagua region. It comprises the large Amazonian plain whose territory is below 500 msnm to 80 msnm.

Despite the fact that this is no longer considered the regional classification of Peru (today Antonio Brack's proposal is considered as such: the 11 natural ecoregions) this classification of 8 natural regions continues to be more practical for purposes of studying external aspects and for touristic purposes as sustained by the researcher D. López Mazzotti as long as they are considered from the parallel 4.103882º of south latitude and towards the south.

Ecoregions

Peru is also a combination of 11 ecoregions according to Antonio Brack Egg's classification and which is considered today the official classification of Peru:

Cold Sea

The richest on the entire planet, characterized by the Humboldt current. Recent research shows that the cold water of the Peruvian sea is due to the upwelling phenomenon, which is nothing more than the emergence of the deepest waters to the surface. The point where the greatest diversity is found is in the sea of Paracas and Lobos de Tierra Island (Piura), where the waters are not comparable to any other on the planet. Its economic activities are fishing.

Tropical Sea

Characterized by the El Niño current that brings waters with an average temperature of 26 °C from Mexico. It is the only part of Peru where you can find coral reefs and mangroves, so the species found here are totally different from those in the cold sea. It starts from the south from the department of Piura and extends to the north. Because it is a tropical environment, in this area there are several of the best beaches in Peru, among them are: Máncora, Punta Sal, Zorritos, Yacila, Colán and others.

Pacific Rainforest or Pacific Jungle

Jungle located in the department of Tumbes, is a small portion of what was once a huge tropical forest that stretched from northern Guatemala to Peru. In terms of biodiversity, this area has one of the highest of all ecoregions (exceeded only by the Amazon jungles), this is because in this place there are Amazon animals such as the howler monkey and the jaguar, also animals of the sierra like the condor and deer, but there are also unique species. This incredible habitat is located in the Tumbes Reserved Zone, 3 hours from the city of the same name.

Dry forest

It is a combination of Indian dry forests and African savannah, stretching from the department of Lambayeque to Ecuador. Mainly, it is a forest grown in a desert, in which only a few species of trees can live. The carob tree and the ceibo are some species that can withstand the dryness of that area. However, the fauna is very diverse. Here, desert animals seek refuge and native species of the area are also found.

Coastal Desert

It is a narrow longitudinal strip that extends from the Pacific Ocean to the west up to 1000 masl and with an extension that represents 10.7% of the total surface of the country, with a coastline of 3080 km in length, it is narrow in the South (beginning in the North of Chile) and it widens a lot in the department of Piura, close to the limits with Ecuador, with a variable width between 50 and 100 km.

This region is distinguished by the slightly uneven terrain that it shows, we find small ravines formed by the Andean foothills but there are mostly pampas, dunes and tablazos, with a predominance of rectilinear forms and few bays, the largest are: Sechura, Paita, Chimbote, Callao and Paracas. In this desert interrupted by seasonal rivers whose valleys have developed an industrial agriculture (cotton, rice, sugar cane, grapevine and olive trees).

The climate is semi-warm: humid although absent of rain and subtropical arid, with average annual rainfall of less than 150 mm and average annual temperatures between 17 and 19 °C. The cause of the lack of rain is due to the fact that the humid trade winds, when passing over the cold waters of the Humboldt Current, cool down and produce a mattress of clouds that are present in the form of mists up to 800 to 1000 meters above sea level. (which according to the geographer Daniel López comes to mark the upper limit of this ecoregion), with low temperatures of about 13 °C. Above this mattress, the temperature rises from 13 to 24 °C (this phenomenon is called "thermal inversion"), and the warm air absorbs humidity, preventing the formation of rain clouds.

There are two kinds, flat and with mountains near them or with dunes (some as high as more than 20 meters), the first is found in almost the entire Peruvian coast while the second only in the department of Ica. Both are one of the driest deserts in the world, however they were home to advanced civilizations such as the Moche, Vicus, Paracas, Nazca, Caral, Lima and others.

Steppe mountain range

It covers the territories on the western side of the Andes Mountains, and begins around 1,000 meters above sea level, just above the cloud layer that generally covers the coast. This is a land of great mountains and precipices; of fertile valleys and rushing rivers that have shaped the landscape for millions of years, forming deep canyons. Its climate is dry and very sunny, but cold at night. The rains are frequent in the highest areas, close to the puna, but decrease as one descends towards the desert. This is the land of the pot-bellied ceibo trees, which gather these mountains with various types of cacti and some bushes with very colorful flowers, such as the chinchircuma and the cantuta, the national flower of Peru. The steppe mountain range is also the home of the puma and the gray deer; of the guanaco and the wild cat; of the vizcacha, the skunk or añás and the Andean fox. Birds abound in its skies: hummingbirds, eagles and hawks, parrots and parakeets, as well as a wide variety of small seed-eating birds.

Puna

Extreme and uninhabitable region that is located at more than 3800 meters above sea level. It has a very harsh climate, characterized by large temperature variations: intense cold at night and heat during the day. It has a rainy season, known as "winter" in the mountains, which begins in December and lasts until March, although downpours are not uncommon outside of it. Its relief is mostly flat, with large plains or pampas crowned by steep mountain ranges. It is in the latter where the glaciers and snow-capped mountains are located, imposing masses of ice and snow that often exceed 6,000 meters in height. There are abundant emerald lagoons, the great salt flats, and a large part of the rivers that run through the country are formed. The puna is, above all, a land of extremes. A place where the inclemency of the climate and the lack of oxygen have limited the development of life, and where only some specially adapted creatures have managed to survive enduring the cold and taking advantage of the few resources that the environment provides them: the kolle and the queñual, species that form the highest altitude forests in the world; the bofedales and tolares, the enormous grasslands of ichu and the stands of puya Raimondi. This is the kingdom of the majestic Andean condor and the slender parihuanas or Andean flamingos; of the graceful vicuñas and the powerful puma; the playful vizcachas, rodents related to rabbits, and the beautiful taruca, the largest deer in the Andes.

Wasteland

The páramo is a kind of humid puna. A land with a cold and very rainy climate, generally covered by a blanket of mist that gives the landscape a touch of mystery. It is found only in a few places in Peru, mainly in Cajamarca and the Sierra de Piura. Located at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, where the air is usually icy, wide grasslands grow that alternate with curious forests of miniature trees: the dwarf forests. Their trunks, twisted and always covered in a thick coat of moss, are home to the strangest of creatures. One of them is the pudú or sachacabra, a deer barely 30 centimeters tall. The rare woolly tapir or pinchaque, several species of bats, the spectacled bear or ucumari, the páramo deer and a small shrew, the only insectivorous mammal in Peru, recently discovered by scientists, are also inhabitants of this place.

High jungle

The largest territories of the high jungle extend along the eastern flank of the Andes Mountains, just above the Amazon plain. Its climate is warm and very humid, becoming cold as it approaches the Andean heights. Here it rains more than anywhere else in the country (up to 5000 mm per year), which allows the formation of numerous torrents and waterfalls of crystal clear water. Its relief is mountainous and complex, with narrow valleys and deep ravines, always covered by an impenetrable jungle. In its highest parts, generally shrouded in mist and drizzle, cloud forests are located, while in the lower areas are the hills that form the so-called "mountain eyebrow". The vegetation in the yungas is perhaps the most lush in the tropics, with many orchids, giant begonias, and tree ferns. This is also the home of the cock of the rocks, the national bird of Peru; the spectacled bear, the only species of South American bear; the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, which until recently was believed to be extinct; the quetzals, the torrent duck, more than twenty varieties of hummingbirds and several dozen species of fruit-bearing birds.

Low Jungle

The jungle or tropical rain forest, the most diverse habitat on the entire planet, covers two thirds of the Peruvian territory. It is home to most of the world's plant and animal species. It has a hot and very humid climate, with rains between December and March, and frequent showers throughout the year. Here the great rivers abound (Amazon, Ucayali, Madre de Dios), source of food and communication between the towns. There are also numerous ponds or lakes, as well as swamps or aguajales.

The flora of this region is made up of more than 20,000 species of plants (trees of fine wood, fruits useful to man and medicinal plants). The fauna, for its part, is extraordinarily rich and varied. Among the most conspicuous inhabitants of the tropical forest are the monkeys, such as the maquisapa and the coto; cats like the margay, the puma and the jaguar; the sachavaca or tapir, and the largest rodent in the world: the capybara. Its waters are populated with large fish such as the paiche and the zúngaro, two types of river dolphins and several aquatic turtles.

The lowland jungle is home to nearly a thousand different varieties of birds: from the mighty harpy eagle to tiny hummingbirds; large reptiles like the black caiman and the anaconda; and as yet unknown numbers of frogs, spiders, and insects. There are isolated areas with the greatest biodiversity on the planet, these are the Manu National Park and the Tambopata - Candamo Reserved Zone (especially the Candamo area, which is the last completely virgin jungle on the planet, where it can only be accessed with previously authorized expeditions. Apart Other areas of this are the Pacaya - Samiria National Reserve, the Güeppi National Reserve, the so-called "manu brother", the Madidi National Park in Bolivia and the Jaú National Park in Brazil.

Palm Savannah

It is a savannah shared between Peru and Bolivia. Its appearance is that of a huge plain of tall grasses and palm trees that stands out in the middle of the tropical jungle forests. It is known by the name of Pampas del Heath, due to the river that runs through them and serves as the boundary between the two countries. The climate here is very hot and humid, with a marked rainy season during the summer. Sometimes the rains are so intense that they flood large expanses of savannah until it turns into a huge lake; only the tops of the palm trees and termite mounds remain as a refuge for the smallest creatures.

Many of the animals and plants that live in this region are unique and adapted to survive without problems in the vast grassland: the swamp deer, the largest deer in Peru; the rare maned wolf, which resembles a long-legged fox; the yellow-billed toucan (the largest in the country), and the elusive white woodpecker. The rheas (South American ostriches), the jaguar, pumas, the giant anteater and the colorful macaws also coexist in this ecoregion.