Geography of Peru

Peru is bordered by Ecuador and Colombia on the north, Brazil to the east, and Bolivia and Chile to the southeast and south, respectively. To the west lies the Pacific Ocean. Eastern Peru consists mostly of the moist tropical jungles of the Amazon Rain Forest, the largest on Earth.

In the southeast along the border with Bolivia lies Lake Titicaca- the highest navigable lake in the world. The Altiplano plateau is a dry basin located along the slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru. Along the border with Chile, the Atacama Desert is the driest place on the planet.

The Pacific Ocean is home to a large amount and variety of fish life. The Sechura Desert is located in northwestern Peru along the Pacific coastline.

The main rivers of the Peru include the Ucayali, Maranon, Amazon (which is formed by the confluence of the Maranon and the Ucayali), Putumayo, Pastaza, Napo, Jurua, and the Purus.

The largest cities include Lima (the capital and the economic and cultural center), Arequipa, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Callao (a suburb of Lima), Piura, Iquitos, Chimbote, Huancayo, Cusco (the capital of the ancient Inca Empire), Pucallpa, and Cajamarca.

Peru is a large, mountainous country on the Pacific coast of South America. It has borders with Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil and Bolivia to the east, and Chile to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west. There are three natural zones, running roughly north to south: Costa (Coast), Sierra (the Highlands) and Selva (Amazonian rain forest). The Costa region, which contains Lima (the capital), is a narrow coastal plain consisting of large tracts of desert broken by fertile valleys. The cotton, sugar and rice plantations and most of the so-far exploited oil fields lie in this area.

The Sierra contains the Andes, with peaks over 6000m (20,000ft), most of the country’s mineral resources (silver, zinc, lead, copper and gold) and the greater part of its livestock. The Selva, an area of fertile, subtropical uplands, lies between the Andes and the border with Brazil. Sections of a proposed international highway are at present being built through it, with some sections already in use.

The Amazonian jungle has vast natural resources. The absence of land communications, however, left the area largely uncharted until full-scale oil exploration began in 1973. The population is largely Indian and Mestizo with a noticeable influence from African, Chinese and European (mainly Spanish) settlers.