About the Amazon |
Most Peruvian territory is covered by dense Amazon forests on the east side of the Andes, yet only 5% of Peruvians live in this area. The Amazon rain forest covers more than 60 percent of Peruvian territory, more than in any other country save Brazil.
According to the Research Institute of the Peruvian Amazon (Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana, IIAP), the spatial delineation of the Peruvian Amazon is as follows:
- Ecological criteria: 782,880.55 km² (60.91% of Peruvian territory and approximately 11.05% of the whole Amazon jungle).
- Hydrographic criteria or basin criteria: 967,922.47 km² (75.31% of Peruvian territory and approximately 16.13% of the whole Amazon basin).
Ecoregions and climate
The Peruvian Amazon is traditionally divided into two distinct ecoregions:
The lowland jungle (in Spanish Selva Baja) is also known as Omagua region, Walla, Anti, Amazonian rainforest or Amazon basin. This ecoregion is the largest of Peru, standing between 80 and 1000 meters above sea level. It has very warm weather with an average temperature of 28°C, high relative humidity (over 75%) and yearly rainfall of approximately 103 in. Its soils are very heterogeneous but almost all have river origins, and due to high temperatures and high rainfall they are poor soils with few nutrients. It contains long and powerful rivers such as the Apurimac, Mantaro, Amazon, Urubamba, Ucayali, Huallaga, Marañón, Putumayo, Yavarí, Napo, Pastaza, Madre de Dios, Manu, Purus, Yurua and rio Tigre. The Apurimac River is the Amazon River’s greatest contributor.
The highland jungle (in Spanish Selva Alta) is also called Rupa-Rupa region, andean jungle, ceja de selva. This ecoregion extends into the eastern foothills of the Andes, between 1000 to 3800 m above the sea level. The eastern slopes of the Andes are home to a great variety of fauna and flora due to the different altitudes and climates within the region. Temperatures are warm in the lowlands and colder in higher altitudes. There are many endemic fauna because of the isolation caused by the rugged terrain of this area.
Biodiversity
The Peruvian Amazon jungle is one of the most biologically diverse areas on Earth. Most species have probably still not been discovered, or adequately studied. As a nation, Peru has the largest number of bird species in the world and the third largest number of mammals; 44 percent of birds and 63 percent of the mammals inhabit the Peruvian Amazon. Peru also has a very high number of species of butterflies, orchids, and other organisms.
| Taxonomy | Species in the world | Species in Peru | Species in the Peruvian Amazon | Peru Vs. world (Percent) |
Peruvian Amazon Vs. Peru (Percent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amphibians | 5,125 | 403 | 262 | 8 | 65 |
| Birds | 9,672 | 1,816 | 806 | 19 | 44 |
| Flowering plants (Angiosperms) | 263,537 | 17,144 | 7,372 | 7 | 43 |
| Ferns (Pteridophyta) | 10,000 | 1,000 | 700 | 10 | 70 |
| Mammals | 4,629 | 462 | 293 | 10 | 63 |
| Butterflies (Lepidoptera) | 16,000 | 3,366 | 2,500 | 21 | 74 |
| Fish (river fish) | 8,411 | 900 | 697 | 11 | 77 |
| Reptiles | 7,855 | 395 | 180 | 5 | 46 |
Demography
Although it is the largest region of Peru, the Peruvian Amazon is the least populated. It is home to approximately 11 percent of the country's population. Many indigenous people, such as those of the Aguaruna, Cocama-Cocamilla and the Urarina tribes, inhabit the jungle, some in relative isolation from the rest of the world.
The primary cities located in the Peruvian Amazon include:
- Lowland jungle
- Iquitos with 500,000 inhabitants at 104 m (Loreto region)
- Pucallpa, with 380,000 inhabitants at 154 m (Ucayali region)
- Yurimaguas with 140,000 inhabitants at 182 m (Loreto region)
- Puerto Maldonado with 104,000 inhabitants at 139 m (Madre de Dios region)
- Tarapoto with 181,000 inhabitants at 350 m (San Martín region)
- Jaén with 86,743 inhabitants at 729 m (Cajamarca region)
- Moyobamba with 77,000 inhabitants at 860 m (San Martín region)
- Bagua with 65,000 inh. at 400 m (Amazonas region)
- Rioja with 60,000 inh. at 848 m (at San Martín region)
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