Perú

How is the land laid out?

Perú has three fundamental regions, one of which is subdivided. The westernmost region is the generally arid coastal plain, the middle region the mountains and intermontane plateaus and valleys and the final region the Amazonas¹ basin. The middle region is subdivided into the Western,² Central and Eastern³ Ranges⁴ of the Andes. Between the Central and Eastern Ranges, widest in the south, is the Altiplano.⁵ The Amazon's headwaters arise in the northwest and near the south. The northwest tributaries flow southeast and the southern ones flow between ranges north. In the southeastern part of the Peruvian Amazon basin are some tributaries of the Madeira⁶ that flow northeast. The highest of the Andes locally is Nevado⁷ Huascarán: 6746 meters. In the very southeast of the Altiplano is Lake Titicaca,⁸ which straddles the Bolivian border.

Who lives there?

Most people in the center of the nation speak Quechua, though Spanish is gaining ground. Most Quechua speakers learn Spanish. The south is lingusitically divided between Spanish and Quechua (about 40 percent each) and Aymara. Most Quechua speakers learn Spanish and most Aymara speakers are tri-lingual. Most of the rest of the nation speaks Spanish.

Almost everyone is a Roman Catholic Christian.

Lima is the only city with over a million residents.

Within the area

Loreto, Ucayali, Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Amazon, La Libertad, San Martín, Ancash, Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Junín,, Huánaco, Pasco, Moquegua and Tacna regiones; and Callao and Lima provinces

Cuzco, Puno, Huancavelica, Ayacucho and Apurímac regiones

Footnotes

1. Amazon in English. It is the world's second longest river and South America's longest. Within Brasil (Brazil) this stretch is called the Solimões.
2. Occidental in Spanish.
3. Oriental in Spanish.
4. Cordillera in Spanish.
5. Translates from Spanish as High-flatland.
6. This tributary of the Amazon is South America's third or fourth longest river.
7. Translates from Spanish as Snowy-Peak.
8. It is the world's highest large lake, and South America's second largest (if you count Lake Maracaibo as a lake).