Life zones of Peru

When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru (very simplistic) in three main regions: the Coastal region (11.6% of Peru), that is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the Highlands (28.1% of Peru), that is located on the Andean Heights, and the Jungle, that is located on the Amazonian Jungle (Climate of Peru). But Javier Pulgar Vidal, a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. ^{[1] [2]} In 1941, he presented his thesis “Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú” at the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History.

These eight Peruvian regions are:

• Chala or Coast (subtropical dry and tropical savanna)
• Yungas
  • Fluvial Yunga
  • Loma-Vegetation
• Quechua
• Suni or Jalca
• Puna
• Janca
• Rupa - Rupa or Highland Jungle
• Omagua or Lowland Jungle

Example: Andes 10°S

See also Altitudinal zonation

Classic Version, Amazonic side

• Sea level, estimated 22 - 24°C (75°F, but the cold Humboldt Current generates fog on the Coast side);
• Tierra Caliente (Hot land, Tropical) up to 2,500 ft (about 750 m - 1,000 m).

Crops: Cacao, Banana, Sugarcane, Manioc, Sweet Potatoes, Yams.

• Tierra Templada (Temperate land, Subtropical) up to 6,000 ft (about 1,850 m – 2,000 m)

(the warmest month has an average temperature of below 22°C or 72°F).

Crops: Coffee, Tobacco, Maize, Coca, Peruvian Pepper (Schinus molle), Avocado, Guave (Psidium guajava), Cherimoya, Plum, Citrus fruits.

• Tierra Fria (Cool land, Temperate) below 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m, Treeline)

(the warmest month has an average temperature of below 18°C or 64°F).

Crops: Potato, Maize, Squash, Passionfruit, Papaya, Peach, Wheat, Rye, and Barley. Farming of cattle.

• Tierra Helada (Cold land) above 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m)

(the definition of Treeline of Coniferae: the warmest month has an average temperature of below 10°C or 50°F ).

Crops above Tree line: Quinoa, Cañigua, Mashua, Oca, Tarhui, Broad beans and Ulluco. Farming of Sheep, Lamas and Alpacas.

Terrestrial Biome Type 10: Montane grasslands and shrublands

• Tierra Nevada, above the Snow line, 15,000 ft (about 4,500 m - 5,000 m)

(just warmer than -1°C over rocks or just warmer than -3°C over snow, annual mean temperature). ^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

Javier Pulgar Vidal's Version

Altitudinal variation in the Andes.

The Peruvian geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal divided Peru in 8 regions (traditionally, it was costa, sierra and selva):

Map from República del Perú - Instituto Geográfico Nacional

• Chala (West, Pacific Coast) 0– 500 m
• Omagua (Lowland jungle or Selva baja, Amazonic rainforest) 80– 400 m
• Rupa-Rupa (Highland jungle, Selva alta) 400– 1,000 m
• Yunga (Aymaran for “Warm Lands”, Cloud forest)
  • Loma-Vegetation (West, “Yunga costal” at the North of Peru) 450– 600 m
  • Fluvial Yungas (East, “Yunga fluvial”) 1,000- 2,300 m
• Quechua (East, High valleys) 2,300– 3,500 m
• Suni (or Jalca or Sallqa too, high plateaus and cliffs) 3,500– 4,100 m
• Puna (means "mountain top") 4,100– 4,800 m
• Janca (means white) above 4,800 m, permafrost, rocks, snow and ice ^[8]

Notes

• Biomes & Ecoregions nearby: ^[9]

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

-. Bolivian Yungas ^[10]

-. Peruvian Yungas ^[11]

-. Southwest Amazon moist forests ^[12]

Montane grasslands and shrublands

-. Central Andean dry puna ^[13]

-. Central Andean puna ^[14]

-. Central Andean wet puna ^[15]

Deserts and xeric shrublands

-. Atacama desert ^[16]

-. Sechura desert ^[17]

Overview - Amazonic side

• Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
  • Belém, Brazil, 24 m, annual mean temperature 26.0°C
  • Gurupa varzea (NT0126) ^[18]
  • Manaus, Brazil, 72 m, annual mean temperature 26.6°C
  • Monte Alegre varzea (NT0141) ^[19]
  • Purus varzea (NT0156) ^[20]
• Colombia - Peru - Brazil border
  • Leticia, Colombia, 84 m, annual mean temperature 25.8°C
  • Tierra Caliente or Tropical Rainforest
    • Omagua or Selva baja (Southwest Amazon moist forests - NT0166) ^[21]
    • Iquitos, Peru, 126 m, annual mean temperature 26.2°C
    • Rupa-Rupa or Selva alta (Iquitos varzea - NT0128) ^[22]
  • Yunga fluvial (more than 5°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
    • Peruvian Yungas (NT0153) ^[23]
  • Quechua (High valleys, more than 10°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
• Treeline
  • Tierra Helada
    • Suni (plateau)
• Mountain pass
  • Puna (mountain slope)
    • Central Andean wet puna (NT1003) ^[24]
    • Central Andean puna (NT1002) ^[25]
  • "Andean-Alpine desert"
• Snow line
  • Tierra Nevada or Janca
• Peak

Estimated Temperatures - Continental Divide

Explanations:

• Region, altitude (m); avg annual precipitation (mm); avg annual temperature (°C);
• Peruvian Highland Rainforest (Tropical climate), Cloud forest (Subtropical climate) and Temperate forest (Temperate climate);
• Cusco reference, estimated avg annual temperature (°C, Lowland Rainforest or Selva baja gets more rain, so it is more cloudy, so it is cooler);
• Snow line reference, Humboldt cold current/ Pacific climate influence, estimated avg annual temperature (°C). ^[26]
  • Cuzco, Peru; 3,249 m; avg annual temperature 12.5 °C; avg annual precipitation 736 mm.
  • Lima, Peru; 30 m; avg annual temperature 19.2 °C (fog influence); avg annual precipitation 15 mm.

	Altitude	West - Pacific side	East - Amazonian side
Highland Rainforest or Selva alta	400 m	-	26.5 °C
Loma-Vegetation	500 m	about 21.1 °C	-
Cloud forest or Fluvial Yunga	1,000 m	-	23.5 °C
Quechua - Montane Valleys	2,300 m	-	17.2 °C
Amazonian Tree line of Coniferae: 10 °C	about 3,500 m	-	about 10 °C
Mountain pass influence	4,100 m	about 3.4 °C	(about 7.1 °C)
Vegetation end	about 4,800 m	about 0.0 °C	-
Snow line	about 5,000 m	about -1.0 °C	-

Example: Kallawaya Region, Bolivia

Altitudinal Zonation: Kallawaya Region, around Charazani, Bolivia (border to Peru).

• Glacier
  • Altitude: 5,900- 5,200 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C, Agriculture: none
• High Mountain Desert, Werneria ciliolata on scree
  • Altitude: 5,200- 5,000 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C - 0 °C, Agriculture: none.
• Grass Zone
  • Calamagrostis minima Steppe,
    • Altitude: 5,000- 4,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 0- 3.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
  • Pycnophyllum Steppe,
    • Altitude: 4,600- 4,300 m, Annual mean temperature: 3.5- 7.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
  • Aciachne Humid Grassland,
    • Altitude: 4,300- 3,900 m, Annual mean temperature: 7.5- 10.0 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas, pigs; Agriculture: bitter potatoes, (oca), (oat); Fallow land: more than 8 years.
• Shrub Zone
  • Satureja Shrub (westslope), Baccharis pentandii Shrub, with Berberis (eastslope),
    • Altitude: 3,900- 3,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 10.0- 11.5 °C, Farming: sheep; Agriculture: potatoes, oca, ulluco, barley; Fallow land: 3 to 4 years.
  • Mutisia Shrub (westslope), Baccharis pentlandii Shrub, with Siphocampylus (eastslope),
    • Altitude: 3,600- 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: 11.5- 16.5 °C, Farming: sheep, cattle; Agriculture: wheat, (barley), peas, beans, maize up to 3,500 m with crop rotation.
  • Kaunia longipetiolata Shrub,
    • Altitude: 3,200- 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: 13.5- 16.5 °C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: maize, wheat, beans, spring potatoes, use of fertilizers, no crop rotation.
  • Highland Rainforest,
    • Altitude: below 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: over 17.0 °C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: tropical fruits, oranges, coffee, coca at around 2,000 m. ^[27]

Gallery

• 

  Vegetation of Peru

• 

  Amazon basin

• 

  Watershed around Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Puno and Cuzco

• 

  Costa - Sierra - Selva

• 

  Iquitos - 126 m

• 

  Rupa-Rupa - High Rain forest

• 

  Mist forest (2,500 m)

• 

  Quechua

• 

  The Sacred Valley of the Incas between Písac and Ollantaytambo (2002)

• 

  Mountain slope (4,000 m)

• 

  Laguna Conococha - 4,050 m

• 

  Puna with shrubs

• 

  Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna

• 

  Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna

• 

  Qoyllur Rit'i, glacier and alpine desert - 2007

• 

  Huascarán National Park; Cordillera Blanca; Taulliraju (5,830 m); North of Lima

See also

• Geography of Peru
• Climate of Peru
• Altitudinal zonation

References

1. ^ Pulgar Vidal, Javier: Geografía del Perú; Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú. Edit. Universo S.A., Lima 1979. First Edition (his dissertation of 1940): Las ocho regiones naturales del Perú, Boletín del Museo de historia natural „Javier Prado“, n° especial, Lima, 1941, 17, pp. 145-161.
2. ^ Benavides Estrada, Juan (1999); Geografía del Perú 2do año de Secuandaria. Lima: Escuela Nueva.
3. ^ Brigitta Schütt (2005); Azonale Böden und Hochgebirgsböden [1]
4. ^ Zech, W. and Hintermaier-Erhard, G. (2002); Böden der Welt – Ein Bildatlas, Heidelberg, p. 98.
5. ^ Christopher Salter, Joseph Hobbs, Jesse Wheeler and J. Trenton Kostbade (2005); Essentials of World Regional Geography 2nd Edition. NY: Harcourt Brace. p.464-465.
6. ^ Middle America: Altitudinal Zonation [2]
7. ^ http://www.andix.com/huaraz_maps/huaraz.html Maps of the Cordillera Blanca - Peru
8. ^ Pulgar Vidal, Javier: Geografía del Perú; Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú. Edit. Universo S.A., Lima 1979. First Edition (his dissertation of 1940): Las ocho regiones naturales del Perú, Boletín del Museo de historia natural „Javier Prado“, n° especial, Lima, 1941, 17, pp. 145-161.
9. ^ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/terrestrial.html WWF Global 200: World Map of 14 Terrestrial Biomes and 867 Ecoregions
10. ^ NT0105 Bolivian Yungas, WWF [3]
11. ^ NT0153 Peruvian Yungas, WWF [4]
12. ^ NT0166 Southwest Amazon moist forests, WWF [5]
13. ^ NT1001 Central Andean dry puna, WWF [6]
14. ^ NT1002 Central Andean puna, WWF [7]
15. ^ NT1003 Central Andean wet puna, WWF [8]
16. ^ NT1303 Atacama desert, WWF [9]
17. ^ NT1315 Sechura desert, WWF [10]
18. ^ Gurupa varzea (NT0126) [11]
19. ^ Monte Alegre varzea (NT0141) [12]
20. ^ Purus varzea (NT0156) [13]
21. ^ Southwest Amazon moist forests (NT0166) [14]
22. ^ Iquitos varzea (NT0128) [15]
23. ^ Peruvian Yungas (NT0153) [16]
24. ^ Central Andean wet puna (NT1003) [17]
25. ^ Central Andean puna (NT1002) [18]
26. ^ http://www.klimadiagramme.de/
27. ^ Seibert, Paul; Farbatlas Südamerika, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, 1996.