Life zones of Peru

When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru into 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 (es), 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 fría (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, Llamas and Alpacas.
  • Terrestrial Biome Type 10: Montane grasslands and shrublands
• Tierra Nevada (Janca), 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 ^[1]

Notes

• Biomes & Ecoregions nearby:^[8]

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

• Bolivian Yungas ^[9]
• Peruvian Yungas ^[10]
• Southwest Amazon moist forests ^[11]

Montane grasslands and shrublands

• Central Andean dry puna ^[12]
• Central Andean puna ^[13]
• Central Andean wet puna ^[14]

Deserts and xeric shrublands

• Atacama Desert ^[15]
• Sechura Desert ^[16]

Overview - Amazonic side

• Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
  • Belém, Brazil, 24 m, annual mean temperature 26.0°C
  • Gurupa várzea (NT0126) ^[17]
  • Manaus, Brazil, 72 m, annual mean temperature 26.6°C
  • Monte Alegre várzea (NT0141) ^[18]
  • Purus várzea (NT0156) ^[19]
• 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) ^[11]
    • Iquitos, Peru, 126 m, annual mean temperature 26.2°C
    • Rupa-Rupa or Selva alta (Iquitos várzea - NT0128) ^[20]
  • Yunga fluvial (more than 5°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
    • Peruvian Yungas (NT0153) ^[10]
  • Quechua (High valleys, more than 10°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
• Tree line
  • Tierra Helada
    • Suni (plateau)
• Mountain pass
  • Puna (mountain slope)
    • Central Andean wet puna (NT1003) ^[21]
    • Central Andean puna (NT1002) ^[13]
  • "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).^[22]
  • 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.

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.^[23]

Gallery

• 
  Vegetation of Peru
• 
  Amazon basin
• 
  Watershed around Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Puno and Cusco
• 
  Costa - Sierra - Selva
• 
  Rupa-Rupa - High Rain forest
• 
  Mist forest (2,500 m)
• 
  Quechua
• 
  Sacred Valley of the Incas between Písac and Ollantaytambo (2002)
• 
  Mountain slope (4,000 m)
• 
  Lake Quñuqqucha (4,050 m)
• 
  Puna with shrubs
• 
  Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna
• 
  Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna
• 
  Quyllur Rit'i, glacier and alpine desert - 2007
• 
  Huáscarán National Park; Cordillera Blanca; Tawllirahu (5,830 m); North of Lima

See also

• Climate of Peru
• Ecoregions of Peru
• Geography of Peru
• Altitudinal zonation

References

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