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Peru Cities with Hotels
 Peru, country in west central South America, bounded on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil and Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The area of Peru, including several offshore islands, is 1,280,000 sq km (496,225 sq mi), making it third in size (after Brazil and Argentina) of South American countries. Lima is the country's capital and chief commercial center.
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Peru
Land and Resources
Peru may be divided into three main topographical regions:
the coastal plain, the sierra, and the montaña.
The coastal plain is an arid, elongated stretch of land
extending the entire length of the country and varying in width from about
65 to 160 km (about 40 to 100 mi). The plain has most of the cities and
industries of Peru, but few adequate harbors. A number of rivers flow
through the region to the Pacific. Parallel to and lying east of the coastal
plain is the sierra, an upland region with towering mountain ranges of the
Andes, lofty plateaus, and deep gorges and valleys. The main range is the
Cordillera Occidental; other ranges include the Cordillera Oriental, the
Cordillera Central, and a number of lesser chains. The sierra, which covers
some 30 percent of the country's land area, traverses the country from
southeast to northwest and varies in width from about 400 km (about 250 mi)
in the south to about 240 km (about 150 mi) in the north; the average height
is some 3660 m (some 12,000 ft). Several of the highest peaks in the world
are located in the various sierran cordilleras and plateaus, notably
Huascarán (6768 m/22,205 ft), the highest in Peru. Lake Titicaca is in the
southeast. Earthquakes occur in the sierra.
In the northeast the sierra slopes downward to a vast, flat
tropical jungle, the selvas, extending to the Brazilian border and forming
part of the Amazon Basin. The forested sierran slopes and a somewhat less
elevated region are collectively designated the montaña. The montaña attains
a maximum width of about 965 km (about 600 mi) in the north and constitutes
some 60 percent of the Peruvian land area; it is covered with thick tropical
forests in the west and with dense tropical vegetation in the center and
east. As a result, the region remains largely unexplored and undeveloped.
Rivers and Lakes
Peru has three main drainage systems. One comprises about 50
torrential streams that rise in the sierra and descend steeply to the
coastal plain. The second comprises the tributaries of the Amazon River in
the montaña region. In the third the principal feature is Lake Titicaca,
which drains into Lake Poopó in Bolivia through the Desaguadero River.
The Napo, Tigre, and Pastaza rivers rise in
Ecuador and flow into Peru. The
latter two streams are tributaries of the Marañón River, and the Napo
empties into the Amazon River. The border between Peru and
Colombia is
delineated by the Putumayo River.
Climate
The climate of Peru varies widely, ranging from tropical in
the montaña to arctic in the highest mountains of the Andes.
In the coastal plain the temperature is normally equable, averaging about
20° C (about 68° F) throughout the year. The coastal climate is moderated by
winds blowing from the cool offshore current known as the Peru, or Humboldt,
Current. The coast receives less than 51 mm (less than 2 in) of
precipitation each year, largely because the cordilleras receive most of the
rain carried by the trade winds from the east. Mist-laden clouds known as
garúa shroud many of the slopes of the sierra from June to October,
providing enough moisture to support grasslands.
In the sierra the temperature ranges seasonally from about
-7° to 21° C (about 20° to 70° F). Rainfall is usually scanty, but in some
localities heavy rains fall from October to April. In Cuzco, in the
southeastern sierra, annual rainfall averages some 815 mm (some 32 in).
The montaña region is extremely hot and humid, although at
higher altitudes it is less so. The prevailing easterlies blowing across
that region gather moisture that is later deposited on the eastern Andean
slopes. Annual rainfall in some districts averages as much as 3810 mm (as
much as 150 in). Most of this rain, which principally falls from November
through April, eventually drains back to the montaña.
"Peru," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Last Revised:
November 17, 2007 10:00 PM. |
