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Categories: Peru | Geography by country

Geography of Peru

Location: Central-western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador

Geographic coordinates:

Map references: South America

Area:
total: 1,285,220 km²

land: 1.28 million km²
water: 5,220 km²

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries:
total: 5,536 km
border countries: Bolivia 900 km, Brazil 1,560 km, Chile 160 km, Colombia 1,496 km (est.), Ecuador 1,420 km

Coastline: 2,414 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nautical miles (370 km)
territorial sea: 200 nautical miles (370 km)

Climate: The combination of latitude and topography variations gives Peru a large diversity of climates. To the east, the Amazon Basin has a tropical climate which resumes warm and rainy conditions all year round. Temperatures vary from 19-24 during the night and 27-35 during the day. Rainfall varies from 2000 to 4000 mm/year. The eastern slopes of the Andes lay among the wettest places in the earth. Anual rainfall ranges from 3000 to 15000 mm and the temperatures from 14-20 C during the night and 24-32 C during the day.

The Andes shelter the largest variety of climates in the country. The climate is semi-arid in the valleys and moist in higher elevations and towards the eastern flanks. Rainfall varies from 200 to 1500 mm/year. The rainy season starts in October and ends in April. The rainiest months are January through March were travel can be sometimes affected. The western slopes are arid to semi-arid and receive rainfall only between January and March. Below 2500 m the temperatures vary between 5 and 15 degrees Celsius in the night versus 18-29 C in the day. Between 2500 and 3500 the temperatures vary from -5 to 12 C in the night and from 15 to 25 C during the day. Between 3500 and 4500 meters the temperature varies from -10 to 8 degrees Celsius during the nighe versus 10 to 20 degrees Celsius during the day.

The coast is desertic with annual rainfall that varies from 5 mm/year near the Chilean border to 200 mm/year in the northern coast and near the Andes. Summer (December through March) is warm and sunny with temperatures that vary from 17 to 24 C during the night and 25 to 36 during the day. Winter (June through September) is cool and cloudy with temperatures that vary from 8 to 16 C during the night and 16 to 24 C during the day.

Terrain: western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Bayovar Depression -34 m
highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m

Natural resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 21%
forests and woodland: 66%
other: 10% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 12,800 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

Environment - current issues: deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: shares control of Lake Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia

Peru is divided into 26 regions (capitals in parentheses):

External links

Climate of Peru

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