Peruvian Amazon
Encyclopedia
The Peruvian Amazon is the area of the Amazon jungle included in the territory of Peru
, from the east of the Andes
to borders with Ecuador
, Colombia
, Brazil
and Bolivia
. This region comprises 60% of the country and is marked by a large degree of biodiversity. The Peruvian Amazon is the second largest jungle after the Brazilian Amazon.
According to the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana, IIAP), the spatial delineation of the Peruvian Amazon is as follows:
The lowland jungle (in Spanish Selva Baja) is also known as Omagua
region, Walla, Anti, Amazonian rainforest or Amazon basin. This ecoregion is the largest of Peru, standing between 80 and 1000 meters above sea level
. It has very warm weather with an average temperature of 28°C, high relative humidity (over 75%) and yearly rainfall of approximately 103 in. Its soils are very heterogeneous but almost all have river origins, and due to high temperatures and high rainfall they are poor soils with few nutrients. It contains long and powerful rivers such as the Apurimac, Mantaro, Amazon, Urubamba, Ucayali, Huallaga, Marañón, Putumayo, Yavarí, Napo, Pastaza, Madre de Dios, Manu, Purus, Yurua and rio Tigre. The Apurimac River is the Amazon River’s greatest contributor.
The highland jungle (in Spanish Selva Alta) is also called Rupa-Rupa
region, andean jungle, ceja de selva. This ecoregion extends into the eastern foothills of the Andes
, between 1000 to 3800 m above the sea level. The eastern slopes of the Andes are home to a great variety of fauna and flora due to the different altitudes and climates within the region. Temperatures are warm in the lowlands and colder in higher altitudes. There are many endemic fauna because of the isolation caused by the rugged terrain of this area.
. Most species have probably still not been discovered, or adequately studied. As a nation, Peru has the largest number of bird species in the world and the third largest number of mammals; 44 percent of birds and 63 percent of the mammals inhabit the Peruvian Amazon. Peru also has a very high number of species of butterflies
, orchids, and other organisms.
This table was elaborated by Edwin Jesús Villacorta Monzón, with data obtained among many sources from years 1997, 2001 and 2006.
, Cocama-Cocamilla
and the Urarina
tribes,
inhabit the jungle, some in relative isolation from the rest of the world.
The primary cities located in the Peruvian Amazon include:
:Category:People of the Amazon
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, from the east of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
to borders with Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. This region comprises 60% of the country and is marked by a large degree of biodiversity. The Peruvian Amazon is the second largest jungle after the Brazilian Amazon.
Extension
Most Peruvian territory is covered by dense Amazon forests on the east side of the Andes, yet only 5% of Peruvians live in this area. The Amazon rain forest covers more than 60 percent of Peruvian territory, more than in any other country save Brazil.According to the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana, IIAP), the spatial delineation of the Peruvian Amazon is as follows:
- Ecological criteria: 782,880.55 km² (60.91% of Peruvian territory and approximately 11.05% of the whole Amazon jungle).
- Hydrographic criteria or basin criteria: 967,922.47 km² (75.31% of Peruvian territory and approximately 16.13% of the whole Amazon basin).
Ecoregions and climate
The Peruvian Amazon is traditionally divided into two distinct ecoregions:The lowland jungle (in Spanish Selva Baja) is also known as Omagua
Omagua
Omagua or Low Jungle is one of the eight Natural Regions of Peru. It is located between 80 and 400 m above sea level in the Amazon rainforest. In this region, there are a lot of rivers that create meanders, swamps and lagoons....
region, Walla, Anti, Amazonian rainforest or Amazon basin. This ecoregion is the largest of Peru, standing between 80 and 1000 meters above sea level
Meters above sea level
Meters above sea Level is a standard metric measurement of the elevation of a location in reference to historic mean sea level; the determination of what actually constitutes mean sea level over time however, may be determined by other parameters, such as the effects of climate history and climate...
. It has very warm weather with an average temperature of 28°C, high relative humidity (over 75%) and yearly rainfall of approximately 103 in. Its soils are very heterogeneous but almost all have river origins, and due to high temperatures and high rainfall they are poor soils with few nutrients. It contains long and powerful rivers such as the Apurimac, Mantaro, Amazon, Urubamba, Ucayali, Huallaga, Marañón, Putumayo, Yavarí, Napo, Pastaza, Madre de Dios, Manu, Purus, Yurua and rio Tigre. The Apurimac River is the Amazon River’s greatest contributor.
The highland jungle (in Spanish Selva Alta) is also called Rupa-Rupa
Rupa-Rupa
Rupa-Rupa or High Jungle is one of the eight natural regions of Peru. It is located between 400 and 1,000 m above the sea level. This region has lots of narrow and long valleys and fluvial mountain trails...
region, andean jungle, ceja de selva. This ecoregion extends into the eastern foothills of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, between 1000 to 3800 m above the sea level. The eastern slopes of the Andes are home to a great variety of fauna and flora due to the different altitudes and climates within the region. Temperatures are warm in the lowlands and colder in higher altitudes. There are many endemic fauna because of the isolation caused by the rugged terrain of this area.
Biodiversity
The Peruvian Amazon jungle is one of the most biologically diverse areas on EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. Most species have probably still not been discovered, or adequately studied. As a nation, Peru has the largest number of bird species in the world and the third largest number of mammals; 44 percent of birds and 63 percent of the mammals inhabit the Peruvian Amazon. Peru also has a very high number of species of butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, orchids, and other organisms.
| Taxonomy Taxonomy Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa... |
Species in the world | Species in Peru | Species in the Peruvian Amazon | Peru Vs. world (Percent) |
Peruvian Amazon Vs. Peru (Percent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amphibians | 5,125 | 403 | 262 | 8 | 65 |
| Birds | 9,672 | 1,816 | 806 | 19 | 44 |
| Flowering plants (Angiosperms) | 263,537 | 17,144 | 7,372 | 7 | 43 |
| Fern Fern A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants... s (Pteridophyta) |
10,000 | 1,000 | 700 | 10 | 70 |
| Mammals | 4,629 | 462 | 293 | 10 | 63 |
| Butterflies (Lepidoptera Lepidoptera Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies... ) |
16,000 | 3,366 | 2,500 | 21 | 74 |
| Fish Fish Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups... (river fish) |
8,411 | 900 | 697 | 11 | 77 |
| Reptiles | 7,855 | 395 | 180 | 5 | 46 |
This table was elaborated by Edwin Jesús Villacorta Monzón, with data obtained among many sources from years 1997, 2001 and 2006.
Demography
Although it is the largest region of Peru, the Peruvian Amazon is the least populated. It is home to approximately 11 percent of the country's population. Many indigenous people, such as those of the AguarunaAguaruna
For the Aguaruna people's language, see Aguaruna language.The Aguaruna are an indigenous people of the Peruvian jungle. Historically, they lived primarily on the banks of the Marañón River, a tributary of the Amazon in northern Peru near the border with Ecuador...
, Cocama-Cocamilla
Cocama-Cocamilla
Cocama is an indigenous language spoken by thousands of native people in western South America. It is spoken along the banks of the Northeastern lower Ucayali, lower Marañón, and Huallaga rivers and in neighboring areas of Brazil and an isolated area in Colombia. There are three dialects...
and the Urarina
Urarina
The Urarina are an indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon Basin who inhabit the Chambira, Urituyacu, and Corrientes Rivers. According to both archaeological and historical sources, they have resided in the Chambira Basin of contemporary northeastern Peru for centuries. The Urarina refer to...
tribes,
inhabit the jungle, some in relative isolation from the rest of the world.
The primary cities located in the Peruvian Amazon include:
- Lowland jungle
- IquitosIquitosIquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, with a population of 370,962. It is the capital of Loreto Region and Maynas Province.Located on the Amazon River, it is only above sea level, although it is more than from the mouth of the Amazon at Belém on the Atlantic Ocean...
with 500,000 inhabitants at 104 m (LoretoLoreto RegionLoreto is Peru's northernmost region. Covering almost one-third of Peru's territory, Loreto is by far the nation's largest region and also one of the most sparsely populated ones, due to its remote location in the Amazon Rainforest...
region) - PucallpaPucallpaPucallpa is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the Calleria District....
, with 380,000 inhabitants at 154 m (UcayaliUcayali RegionUcayali is an inland region in Peru. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the Ucayali River. The regional capital is the city of Pucallpa.-Boundaries:...
region) - YurimaguasYurimaguasYurimaguas is a thriving port-town in the Loreto Region of northeastern Peruvian Amazonia. Historically associated with Maynas Pais de los Maynas, the culturally diverse town is affectionately known as the "Pearl of the Huallaga"...
with 140,000 inhabitants at 182 m (LoretoLoreto RegionLoreto is Peru's northernmost region. Covering almost one-third of Peru's territory, Loreto is by far the nation's largest region and also one of the most sparsely populated ones, due to its remote location in the Amazon Rainforest...
region) - Puerto MaldonadoPuerto MaldonadoPuerto Maldonado is a city in Southeastern Peru in the Amazon forest west of the Bolivian border on the confluence of the Tambopata and Madre de Dios River, a tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Madre de Dios Region....
with 104,000 inhabitants at 139 m (Madre de DiosMadre de Dios RegionMadre de Dios is a region in southeastern Peru, bordering Brazil, Bolivia and the Peruvian regions of Puno, Cusco and Ucayali. Its capital is the city of Puerto Maldonado. The name of the region is a very common Spanish language designation for the Virgin Mary, literally meaning Mother of...
region) - TarapotoTarapotoTarapoto, known as the "City of Palms", is a thriving commercial hub in northern Peru, an hour by plane from Lima, situated in the San Martín Province of the San Martín Region, located in the high jungle plateau to the east of what is known as the selva baja...
with 181,000 inhabitants at 350 m (San MartínSan Martín RegionSan Martín is a region in northern Peru. Most of the region is located in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Its capital is Moyobamba and the largest city in the region is Tarapoto.-Boundaries:* North and East: Loreto Region...
region) - JaénJaén, PeruThe city of Jaén is the capital of the Jaén Province in the Cajamarca Region of Peru. At an altitude of 740 meters above sea level it is considered part of the northern Sierra region of Peru. It has a warm and humid climate. Temperatures fluctuate between 15 and 33 degrees Celsius. Rice is the main...
with 86,743 inhabitants at 729 m (CajamarcaCajamarca RegionCajamarca is a region in Peru. The capital is the city of Cajamarca. It is located in the north part of the country and shares a border with Ecuador...
region) - MoyobambaMoyobambaMoyobamba is the capital city of the San Martín Region in northern Peru. Called "Santiago of eight valleys of Moyobamba" or "Maynas capital". There are 70,000 inhabitants, according to the 2009 census. Some 3,500 species of orchids are native to the area, which has led to the city's nickname of...
with 77,000 inhabitants at 860 m (San MartínSan Martín RegionSan Martín is a region in northern Peru. Most of the region is located in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Its capital is Moyobamba and the largest city in the region is Tarapoto.-Boundaries:* North and East: Loreto Region...
region) - BaguaBagua, PeruBagua is a city in Peru located about from the city of Chachapoyas. It lies in the provincia of the same name.-External links:*...
with 65,000 inh. at 400 m (AmazonasAmazonas RegionAmazonas is a department of northern Peru bordered by Ecuador on the north and west, Cajamarca Department on the west, La Libertad Department on the south, and Loreto Department and San Martín Department on the east. Its capital is the city of Chachapoyas....
region) - RiojaRioja, PeruRioja is the capital of the Rioja Province in the San Martín Region in northern Peru. It is situated to the west of Moyobamba. There are 24 263 inhabitants, according to the 2007 census....
with 60,000 inh. at 848 m (at San MartínSan Martín RegionSan Martín is a region in northern Peru. Most of the region is located in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Its capital is Moyobamba and the largest city in the region is Tarapoto.-Boundaries:* North and East: Loreto Region...
region)
- Iquitos
See also
- Iperu, tourist information and assistanceIperu, tourist information and assistanceIperú, Tourist Information and Assistance, or simply iperú is the free tourism office provided by the Peruvian government through the Commission for the Promotion of Export and Tourism Peru and the National Institute for Defense Competition and Protection of...
- River cruiseRiver cruiseA River cruise is a voyage along inland waterways, often stopping at multiple ports along the way. Since cities and towns often grew up around rivers, river cruise ships frequently dock in the center of cities and towns.- Descriptions :...
- Amazon RainforestAmazon RainforestThe Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
- Amazon BasinAmazon BasinThe Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries that drains an area of about , or roughly 40 percent of South America. The basin is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela...
- Amazon RiverAmazon RiverThe Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
- Climate changeClimate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
- Conservation ethicConservation ethicConservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
- Uncontacted peoplesUncontacted peoplesUncontacted people, also referred to as isolated people or lost tribes, are communities who live, or have lived, either by choice or by circumstance, without significant contact with globalized civilisation....
- Global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
- IquitosIquitosIquitos is the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest, with a population of 370,962. It is the capital of Loreto Region and Maynas Province.Located on the Amazon River, it is only above sea level, although it is more than from the mouth of the Amazon at Belém on the Atlantic Ocean...
- 2009 Peruvian political crisis2009 Peruvian political crisisThe 2009 Peruvian political crisis resulted from the ongoing opposition to oil development in the Peruvian Amazon, with local Native Americans opposing Petroperú and the National Police...
- Legal loggingLoggingLogging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and illegal loggingIllegal loggingIllegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...
:Category:People of the Amazon
- Tapiche Ohara's ReserveTapiche Ohara's ReserveThe 1,540 hectare Reserve, accessible only by waterway, is located 340 km up river from Iquitos on the Tapiche River. The Reserve comprises several types of lowland Amazonian forests, including igapo, varzea, and terra firme...
External links
- IIAP - Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (Peruvian Amazon Research Institution)
- Fundación Para el Desarrollo de la Selva-Universidad Nacional de San Martín
- Peru Cultural Society - The Peruvian Amazon Jungle
- Siamazonía - Sistema de Información de la Diversidad Biológica y Ambiental de la Amazonía Peruana (Peruvian Amazon Bio-Diversity Information System)
- WWF in the Amazon rainforest