Peru Geography:
Location:
Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Geographic coordinates:
10 00 S, 76 00 W
Map references:
Area:
total:
1,285,220 sq km
land:
1.28 million sq km
water:
5,220 sq km
Area - comparative:
Slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundaries:
total: 5,536 km
border countries: Bolivia 900 km, Brazil 1560 km, Chile 160 km, Colombia (est.) 1496 km, Ecuador 1420 km
Coastline:
2,414 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 NM
territorial sea: 200 NM
Climate:
Varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Terrain:
Western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m
Natural resources:
Copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 2.89%
permanent crops: 0.4%
other: 96.71%
(2001)
Irrigated land:
11,950 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity
Environment - current issues:
Deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements (not ratified)
Geography - Note:
Shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River |
