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. 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).

Javier Pulgar Vidal's version
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
 * Yungas (Aymaran for "Warm Lands", Cloud forest)
 * Loma-Vegetation (West, "Yunga coastal" 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

Overview - Amazonic side

 * Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
 * Belém, Brazil, 24 m, annual mean temperature 26.0°C
 * Gurupa várzea (NT0126)
 * Manaus, Brazil, 72 m, annual mean temperature 26.6°C
 * Monte Alegre várzea (NT0141)
 * Purus várzea (NT0156)
 * 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)
 * Iquitos, Peru, 126 m, annual mean temperature 26.2°C
 * Rupa-Rupa or Selva alta (Iquitos várzea - NT0128)
 * Yunga fluvial (more than 5°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
 * Peruvian Yungas (NT0153)
 * 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)
 * Central Andean puna (NT1002)
 * "Andean-Alpine desert"
 * Snow line
 * Tierra Nevada or Janca
 * Peak

Estimated temperatures - Continental Divide
Explanations:
 * Region, elevation (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).
 * 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
 * Elevation: 5,900- 5,200 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C, Agriculture: none
 * High Mountain Desert, Werneria ciliolata on scree
 * Elevation: 5,200- 5,000 m, Annual mean temperature: below 0 °C - 0 °C, Agriculture: none.
 * Grass Zone
 * Calamagrostis minima Steppe,
 * Elevation: 5,000- 4,600 m, Annual mean temperature: 0- 3.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
 * Pycnophyllum Steppe,
 * Elevation: 4,600- 4,300 m, Annual mean temperature: 3.5- 7.5 °C, Farming: alpacas, lamas.
 * Aciachne Humid Grassland,
 * Elevation: 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),
 * Elevation: 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),
 * Elevation: 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,
 * Elevation: 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,
 * Elevation: below 2,700 m, Annual mean temperature: over 17.0 °C, Farming: cattle; Agriculture: tropical fruits, oranges, coffee, coca at around 2,000 m.

Gallery
 Image:Peru_veg_1970.png|Vegetation of Peru Image:Amazonriverbasin basemap.png|Amazon basin Image:Lake-Titicaca-Jacques-Nicolas-Bellin-1758.jpg|Watershed around Lake Titicaca, Arequipa, Puno and Cusco Image:Peru Provinces Costa Sierra Selva.png|Costa - Sierra - Selva

Image:Peru - HotSprings.jpg|Rupa-Rupa - High Rain forest Image:Yungas03.jpg|Mist forest (2,500 m) Image:ValleColca lou.jpg|Quechua Image:Urubamba_valley1.jpg|Sacred Valley of the Incas between Písac and Ollantaytambo (2002) Image:Yungas01.jpg|Mountain slope (4,000 m) Image:Laguna Conococha.jpg|Lake Quñuqqucha (4,050 m) Image:Lama guanicoe in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Chile.jpg|Puna with shrubs Image:Parinacota volcano.jpg|Lauca National Park - Parinacota volcano Image:Peru - Altiplano1.jpg|Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna Image:Peru - Altiplano2.jpg|Region of Ayacucho, Peru, 1986 - Puna Image:Qoyllur Rit'i dancers.jpg|Quyllur Rit'i, glacier and alpine desert - 2007 Image:Taulliraju.JPG|Huáscarán National Park; Cordillera Blanca; Tawllirahu (5,830 m); North of Lima 