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 (es ), a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions.[1] [2] 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 .
Peruvian natural regions.
These eight Peruvian regions are:
See also Altitudinal zonation
Classic version, Amazonic side
Altitudinal variation in the Andes.
Sea level
Estimated 22 - 24°C (75°F), but the cold Humboldt Current generates fog on the coast side
Tierra caliente (Hot land, tropical ) up to 2,500 ft (about 750 m - 1,000 m).
Tierra templada (Temperate land, subtropical ) up to 6,000 ft (about 1,850 m – 2,000 m)
Tierra fría (Cool land, temperate) below 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m, treeline)
Tierra helada (Cold land) above 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m)
Tierra Nevada (Janca) , above the snow line , 15,000 ft (about 4,500 m - 5,000 m)
Just warmer than -1°C over rocks or just warmer than -3°C over snow, annual mean temperature).[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
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[1]
Overview - Amazonic side
Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
Colombia - Peru - Brazil border
Leticia, Colombia , 84 m, annual mean temperature 25.8°C
Tierra Caliente or Tropical rainforest
Yunga fluvial (more than 5°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
Quechua (High valleys, more than 10°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
Tree line
Mountain pass
Puna (mountain slope)
"Andean-Alpine desert"
Snow line
Peak
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).[22]
Cuzco , Peru; 3,249 m; avg annual temperature 12.5 °C; avg annual precipitation 736 mm.
Lima , Peru; 30 m; avg annual temperature 19.2 °C (fog influence); avg annual precipitation 15 mm.
More information Elevation, West - Pacific side ...
Elevation West - Pacific side East - Amazonian side
Highland Rainforest or Selva alta 400 m -26.5 °C
Loma-Vegetation 500 m about 21.1 °C -
Cloud forest or Fluvial Yunga1,000 m -23.5 °C
Quechua - Montane Valleys 2,300 m -17.2 °C
Amazonian Tree line of Coniferae : 10 °C about 3,500 m -about 10 °C
Mountain pass influence 4,100 m about 3.4 °C (about 7.1 °C)
Vegetation end about 4,800 m about 0.0 °C -
Snow line about 5,000 m about -1.0 °C -
Close
Altitudinal zonation: Kallawaya Region, around Charazani , Bolivia (border to Peru).
Glacier
Elevation: 5,900- 5,200 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C, Agriculture: none
High Mountain Desert , Werneria ciliolata on scree
Elevation: 5,200- 5,000 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C - 0 °C, Agriculture: none.
Grass Zone
Calamagrostis minima Steppe ,
Elevation: 5,000- 4,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 0- 3.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
Pycnophyllum Steppe ,
Elevation: 4,600- 4,300 m, Annual mean temperature: 3.5- 7.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
Aciachne Humid Grassland ,
Elevation: 4,300- 3,900 m, Annual mean temperature: 7.5- 10.0 °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 °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 °C, Farming: sheep, cattle; Agriculture: wheat , (barley ), peas , beans , maize up to 3,500 m with crop rotation.
Kaunia longipetiolata Shrub ,
Highland Rainforest ,
Elevation: below 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: over 17.0 °C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: tropical fruits, oranges , coffee , coca at around 2,000 m.[23]
Pulgar Vidal, Javier: Geografía del Perú; Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú . Edit. Universo S.A., Lima 1979. First Edition (his dissertation of 1940): Las ocho regiones naturales del Perú, Boletín del Museo de Historia Natural „Javier Prado“, n° especial, Lima, 1941, 17, pp. 145-161. Benavides Estrada, Juan (1999); Geografía del Perú 2do año de Secuandaria . Lima: Escuela Nueva.
Zech, W. and Hintermaier-Erhard, G. (2002); Böden der Welt – Ein Bildatlas , Heidelberg, p. 98.
Christopher Salter, Joseph Hobbs, Jesse Wheeler and J. Trenton Kostbade (2005); Essentials of World Regional Geography 2nd Edition. NY: Harcourt Brace . p.464-465. Seibert, Paul; Farbatlas Südamerika , Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 1996.