Portal:Peru

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Introduction

The Peru Portal
The Peru Portal
Republic of Peru
República del Perú (Spanish)
CapitalLima
12°2.6′S 77°1.7′W / 12.0433°S 77.0283°W / -12.0433; -77.0283
ISO 3166 codePE

Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is a megadiverse country with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of the Andes mountains extending from the north to the southeast of the country to the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon River. Peru has a population of over 32 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima. At 1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi), Peru is the 19th largest country in the world, and the third largest in South America.

Peruvian territory was home to several cultures during the ancient and medieval periods, and has one of the longest histories of civilization of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 10th millennium BCE. Notable pre-colonial cultures and civilizations include the Caral–Supe civilization (the earliest civilization in the Americas and considered one of the cradles of civilization), the Nazca culture, the Wari and Tiwanaku empires, the Kingdom of Cusco, and the Inca Empire, the largest known state in the pre-Columbian Americas. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and Charles V established a viceroyalty with the official name of the Kingdom of Peru that encompassed most of its South American territories, with its capital in Lima. Higher education started in the Americas with the official establishment of the National University of San Marcos in Lima in 1551.

Peru's population includes Mestizos, Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechuan languages, Aymara, or other Indigenous languages. This mixture of cultural traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music. (Full article...)

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Coropuna is a dormant compound volcano located in the Andes mountains of southeast-central Peru. The upper reaches of Coropuna consist of several perennially snowbound conical summits, lending it the name Nevado Coropuna in Spanish. The complex extends over an area of 240 square kilometres (93 sq mi) and its highest summit reaches an altitude of 6,377 metres (20,922 ft) above sea level. This makes the Coropuna complex the third-highest of Peru. Its thick ice cap is the most extensive in Earth's tropical zone, with several outlet glaciers stretching out to lower altitudes. Below an elevation of 5,000 metres (16,000 ft), there are various vegetation belts which include trees, peat bogs, grasses and also agricultural areas and pastures.

The Coropuna complex consists of several stratovolcanoes. These are composed chiefly of ignimbrites and lava flows on a basement formed by Middle Miocene ignimbrites and lava flows. The Coropuna complex has been active for at least five million years, with the bulk of the current cone having been formed during the Quaternary. Coropuna has had two or three Holocene eruptions 2,100 ± 200 and either 1,100 ± 100 or 700 ± 200 years ago which generated lava flows, plus an additional eruption which may have taken place some 6,000 years ago. Current activity occurs exclusively in the form of hot springs. (Full article...)

Selected image

Public transport in Lima
Public transport in Lima
Photo credit: Ericbronder

Public transport in Lima is handled by buses, micros, taxicabs, and the so-called mototaxis. Micros are the most common means of public transportation in Lima and many other cities in Peru. The word micro is used in common-day Peruvian Spanish as an abbreviation for microbus (minibus). These privately-owned vehicles are not only known for being very cheap and convenient but also for being rather risky. (more...)

Selected battle

Present-day Miraflores district

The Battle of Miraflores occurred on January 15, 1881 in the Miraflores District of Lima, Peru. It was an important battle during the War of the Pacific that was fought between Chile and the forces of Peru. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel Baquedano defeated the army commanded by Nicolás de Pierola guarding the second defensive line of the Peruvian capital city. Two days later, Lima, the capital city of Peru was occupied by Chilean troops. Gen. Baquedano's forces marched into Lima triumphant, while Peru's president and his officers fled into the interior, leaving the country without any government. Although the fall of Lima, the war continued between the occupation army and the troops of Andres Caceres for another three years. During the occupation of Lima, Peru's National Library was set on flames, while a number of other monuments were ransacked by Chilean forces and taken as war trophies. (more...)

In this month

  • May  2, 1866 - In the Battle of Callao during the Chincha Islands War a Spanish Fleet took on an alliance of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Ecuador.
  • May 20, 1929 - The Peruvian Air Force was created by merging the aviation divisions of the Army and the Navy.

General images

The following are images from various Peru-related articles on Wikipedia.

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Archaeological site of Sechin Bajo overlooking the Sechin River Valley. The oldest part of the ruin, dating to 3500 BC, is on the left of the photo.

The Casma–Sechin culture (alternatively Sechin Complex) (c. 3600 BCE – 200 BCE) of Peru refers to the large concentration of pre-historic ruins in the valleys of the Casma River and its tributary the Sechin River and along the nearby coast of the Pacific Ocean. The ruins include major archaeological sites such as Sechin Bajo, Sechin Alto, Cerro Sechin, Mojeque (Pampa de las Llamas-Moxeke), Chankillo, and Taukachi-Konkan, as well as other smaller sites. Most of these inland sites are found in the river valleys about 20 kilometres (12 mi) distant from the ocean. The seaside sites of Huaynuná and Las Haldas are found about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north and south of the mouth of the Casma River on the coast.

A frieze located at Sechin Bajo dated at 3600 BCE is the oldest example of monumental architecture discovered thus far in the Americas. This date, if confirmed by additional discoveries, means that the Casma/Sechin culture may have originated as early or earlier than the Caral-Supe civilization, currently considered the oldest civilization of the Americas. (Full article...)

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