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Peru lies on the west coast of South America,
just south of the equator. A mostly tropical country, it has three distinct
regions: the coastal region, La Costa on the Pacific Ocean; the rugged Andes
Mountains region, La Sierra; and the tropical jungle section, La
Montaņa in the northeast and Amazon basin area. Peru lies completely within the tropics, but the Peru current, Current de Humboldt, a cold ocean current, makes the coast cooler than normal for a tropical region. More than one-half of all Peruvians live on the coast. One-third live in the highlands and the remainder live in La Montaņa. |
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The climate in Peru varies across the three regions. La Costa has
a dry mild climate. The Andes region or La Sierra, is coolest and La Montaņa
is hot and humid with heavy rainfall, especially from December to March. The temperatures
are quite mild all year round. For La Montaņa, in the area of the city of
Iquitos on the Amazon there is an annual rainfall of about 230 cm. The Peruvian highlands
are home to llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos, while La Montaņa region has
jaguars, capybaras, tapirs, and several species of monkeys. Some parts of the Amazon basin have been deforested. |
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