Ancash Region

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Región Ancash

See other Peruvian regions
President	Ricardo Narváez Soto
Capital	Huaraz 3027 m
Largest city	Chimbote
Area	35,039.19 km²
Population   - Total   - Density	1,139,083 (2004 estimate) 31.7/km²
Subdivisions	20 provinces and 166 districts
Elevation   - Lowest   - Highest	0 m (sea level) 6768 m (Huascarán)
Main resources
Poverty rate	61.1%
Percentage of country's GDP	2.76%
Dialing code	043
ISO 3166-2	PE-ANC
Official website: www.regionancash.gob.pe

Ancash is a region located in northern Peru. It is bordered by the La Libertad Region on the north, the Huánuco and Pasco regions on the east, the Lima Region on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz and its largest city and port is Chimbote. The name of the region originates from the Quechua word "anqash", which means blue.

[edit] Geography

Ancash is a department of contrasts. It has two great longitudinal valleys, that combine the mountain original characteristics of the Callejón de Huaylas (Alley of Huaylas) and the not less original ones of the silvan Alto Marañón. It also has wonderful coastal sandy grounds and a rich sea. All of these places, constitute a unit of singular characteristics. No wonder it was the theater of appearance of the three times millenarian culture: Chavín. Chavín was the first top Peruvian culture, according to the wise man Julio C. Tello,

Besides Julio C. Tello considered that people came from the Amazonas scaled the Andes and developed the Chavín culture. The territory of the coast, high plateaux and Andean punas of the Ancash Region are flat, while the rest of its territory, occupied by the Andes, is very rough. In the west, slopes with strong declivity have been shaped in narrow canyons with abrupt and deserted sides.

Nevado Huascarán.

It also have to be indicated that opposite the height of the formidable Huascarán - first summit of Peru and second of America, that reaches 6,768 m -, the deep trough of Chimbote is in the sea of Ancash, with 6,263 m of depth. This contrast shows the unit of a vertical wall of dreadful dimensions: 13,031 ms.

Plaza de armas

The rough territory of the department is crossed by two mountain ranges: in the Western side, it's the Cordillera Negra (the Black mountain range) and in the Eastern side, it's the Cordillera Blanca (the White mountain range), between which the Santa river flows through the so-called Callejón de Huaylas. This alley, when narrowing itself, forms the Cañón del Pato (the Duck Canyon). Also in the Pacific slopes, the Santa River has shaped a wide valley in the punas which is getting narrow each time until cut the Cordillera Negra where the majestic Cañón del Pato Canyon has been formed.

Most of the Ancash population is concentrated in the Callejón de Huaylas formed by the Blanca and Negra Cordilleras (mountain ranges). Two areas are the most outstanding surfaces in the topography of Ancash: the Cordillera Negra located on the west of the Callejón de Huaylas, which has peaks without glaciers; and the Cordillera Blanca located on the east, which has several peaks covered with snow and ice, such as the Huascarán, which is the highest peak in Peru (6768 m above sea level), and the Alpamayo. Likewise, there are many lagoons that originated from glaciers like Llanganuco and Paron.

Five are the main lines that cross the intrincate, gigantic and gorgeous relief of this department:

• One is the North Pan-American highway, that crosses the coast of Ancash longitudinally.

• There are three cross-sectional highways that connect the coast with the region of the highlands - fundamentally with the Callejón de Huaylas -: Pativilca - Huallanca, Casma - Huaraz and Chimbote - Huallanca.

• And a highway that crosses the Callejón de Conchucos (Conchucos Alley) longitudinally, to

the east of the Cordillera Blanca.

Outside them there are some routes that form very interesting circuits in the local roads.

[edit] History

Between the years 400 and 600 B.C. the Chavín civilization flourished in this zone. The importance of this culture does not only lie on its antiquity but also in the fact that a synthesis of a disperse and previous cultural process was started with this civilization and which was started in other places of the Andean and Amazonian territory. The name Chavin originates from the Quechua word "Chaupin" which means: center or headquarters. During the Inca age, the population of the Santa valley were incorporated to the Empire by Inca Pachacuti.

The first Spaniards came to Huaylas attracted by the fame of the silver veins of the region. The search for silver and gold by Indians provoked the Spanish to destroy the Inca cities. Most of the Inca mines, explotated by the Spaniards, were very well appreciated like the San Luis de Huari mines. When Francisco Pizarro was in Cajamarca, he heard some stories about the richness of the Santa valley and decided to move there in order to found a city. After bloody battles against huaylas and conchucos, the Indian were put under the control of the Spaniards. By that time, Jeronimo de Alvarado founded the city of Huaraz. In the Colonial Age, this city did not become important and its artistic and cultural life did not have much relevance.

During Independence, Simón Bolívar established his headquarters in Huaraz.

The 1970 Ancash earthquake devastated the region, killing more than 50 000 people and damaging 186 000 houses in one of the deadliest natural disasters in Peru.

[edit] Tourism

In Ancash, the geographical center of the region is formed by the Callejón de Huaylas, which is an area with intense touristic activities due to its large variety of natural attractions as well as facilities to practice many sports, and its large remains of the cultures that flourished in the region. The Cordillera Blanca, the highest in the Peruvian Andes, offers an interesting attraction for tourists visiting Peru.

The beautiful glaciers in the Cordillera Blanca, lagoons and thermal fountains, greenish valleys, progressive towns are most admired by visitors. The Alpamayo peak, among others are considered as some of the most beautiful ones in the world; this is why Ancash is sometimes referred to as the "Switzerland of Peru". The highest peak in Peru, the Huascarán, is located in the White Cordillera. The Huascarán National Park is located in this place and includes parts of the provinces of Recuay, Huaraz, Carhuaz, Yungay, Huaylas, Huari and Bolognesi.

Ancash has many vestiges of old cultures, such as Guitarrero Cave,10,000 BC,Chavín. The Pre-columbian ruins of Chavín de Huántar, Hunsakay,Willkawain, Sechín, and Pañamarca are well known.

[edit] Political division

Political division of Ancash

The region is divided into 20 provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 166 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). Its capital is the province of Huaraz.

The provinces and their capitals are:

[edit] Climate, Rates and Distance information

 From Huaraz to Lima 408 km

 From Huaraz to Trujillo 335 km

 From Huaraz to Cajamarca 636 km

Political division of Peru
Amazonas | Ancash | Apurímac | Arequipa | Ayacucho | Cajamarca | Callao | Cusco | Huancavelica | Huánuco | Ica | Junín | La Libertad | Lambayeque | Lima | Loreto | Madre de Dios | Moquegua | Pasco | Piura | Puno | San Martín | Tacna | Tumbes | Ucayali
The Lima Province is not part of any of the twenty-five regions.