my-server
← Wiki

Life zones of Peru

When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru into three main regions: the coastal region (11.6% of Peru), that is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the highlands (28.1% of Peru), that is located on the Andean Heights, and the jungle, that is located on the Amazonian Jungle (Climate of Peru). But Javier Pulgar Vidal (), a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. In 1941, he presented his thesis "Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú" at the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History.

These eight Peruvian regions are:

Example: Andes 10°S

:See also Altitudinal zonation

Classic version, Amazonic side

Javier Pulgar Vidal's version

The Peruvian geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal divided Peru in 8 regions (traditionally, it was costa, sierra and selva):

Map from República del Perú - Instituto Geográfico Nacional

  • Chala (West, Pacific Coast) 0– 500 m
  • Omagua (Lowland jungle or Selva baja, Amazonic rainforest) 80– 400 m
  • Rupa-Rupa (Highland jungle, Selva alta) 400– 1,000 m
  • Yungas (Aymaran for "Warm Lands", Cloud forest)
  • Loma-Vegetation (West, "Yunga coastal" at the north of Peru) 450– 600 m
  • Fluvial Yungas (East, "Yunga fluvial") 1,000- 2,300 m
  • Quechua (East, High valleys) 2,300– 3,500 m
  • Suni (or Jalca or Sallqa too, high plateaus and cliffs) 3,500– 4,100 m
  • Puna (means "mountain top") 4,100– 4,800 m
  • Janca (means white) above 4,800 m, permafrost, rocks, snow and ice

Notes

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

Montane grasslands and shrublands

Deserts and xeric shrublands

Overview - Amazonic side

Estimated temperatures - Continental Divide

Explanations:

  • Region, elevation (m); avg annual precipitation (mm); avg annual temperature (°C);
  • Peruvian Highland Rainforest (Tropical climate), Cloud forest (Subtropical climate) and Temperate forest (Temperate climate);
  • Cusco reference, estimated avg annual temperature (°C, Lowland Rainforest or Selva baja gets more rain, so it is more cloudy, so it is cooler);
  • Snow line reference, Humboldt cold current/ Pacific climate influence, estimated avg annual temperature (°C).
  • Cuzco, Peru; 3,249 m; avg annual temperature 12.5 Ã‚°C; avg annual precipitation 736 mm.
  • Lima, Peru; 30 m; avg annual temperature 19.2 Ã‚°C (fog influence); avg annual precipitation 15 mm.

Example: Kallawaya Region, Bolivia

Altitudinal zonation: Kallawaya Region, around Charazani, Bolivia (border to Peru).

  • Glacier
  • Elevation: 5,900- 5,200 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 Ã‚°C, Agriculture: none
  • High Mountain Desert, Werneria ciliolata on scree
  • Elevation: 5,200- 5,000 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 Ã‚°C - 0 Ã‚°C, Agriculture: none.
  • Grass Zone
  • Calamagrostis minima Steppe,
  • Elevation: 5,000- 4,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 0- 3.5 Ã‚°C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
  • Pycnophyllum Steppe,
  • Elevation: 4,600- 4,300 m, Annual mean temperature: 3.5- 7.5 Ã‚°C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
  • Aciachne Humid Grassland,
  • Elevation: 4,300- 3,900 m, Annual mean temperature: 7.5- 10.0 Ã‚°C, Farming: alpacas, lamas, pigs; Agriculture: bitter potatoes, (oca), (oat); Fallow land: more than 8 years.
  • Shrub Zone
  • Satureja Shrub (westslope), Baccharis pentandii Shrub, with Berberis (eastslope),
  • Elevation: 3,900- 3,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 10.0- 11.5 Ã‚°C, Farming: sheep; Agriculture: potatoes, oca, ulluco, barley; Fallow land: 3 to 4 years.
  • Mutisia Shrub (westslope), Baccharis pentlandii Shrub, with Siphocampylus (eastslope),
  • Elevation: 3,600- 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: 11.5- 16.5 Ã‚°C, Farming: sheep, cattle; Agriculture: wheat (barley), peas, beans, maize up to 3,500 m with crop rotation.
  • Kaunia longipetiolata Shrub,
  • Elevation: 3,200- 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: 13.5- 16.5 Ã‚°C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: maize, wheat, beans, spring potatoes, use of fertilizers, no crop rotation.
  • Highland Rainforest,
  • Elevation: below 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: over 17.0 Ã‚°C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: tropical fruits, oranges, coffee, coca at around 2,000 m.

Gallery

<Gallery> Image:Peru_veg_1970.png|Vegetation of Peru Image:Amazonriverbasin basemap.png|Amazon basin Image:Lake-Titicaca-Jacques-Nicolas-Bellin-1758.jpg|Watershed around Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Puno and Cusco Image:Peru Provinces Costa Sierra Selva.png|Costa - Sierra - Selva

Image:Peru - HotSprings.jpg|Rupa-Rupa - High Rain forest Image:Yungas03.jpg|Mist forest (2,500 m) Image:ValleColca lou.jpg|Quechua Image:Urubamba_valley1.jpg|Sacred Valley of the Incas between Písac and Ollantaytambo (2002) Image:Yungas01.jpg|Mountain slope (4,000 m) Image:Laguna Conococha.jpg|Lake Quñuqqucha (4,050 m) Image:Lama guanicoe in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Chile.jpg|Puna with shrubs Image:Parinacota volcano.jpg|Lauca National Park - Parinacota volcano Image:Peru - Apurímac River Altiplano1.jpg|Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna Image:Ayacucho Region Peru - Altiplano2.jpg|Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna Image:Qoyllur Rit'i dancers.jpg|Quyllur Rit'i, glacier and alpine desert - 2007 Image:Taulliraju.JPG|Huáscarán National Park; Cordillera Blanca; Tawllirahu (5,830 m); North of Lima </Gallery>

See also

References