ANCASH REGION

'Ancash' is a region 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''.

Contents

History

Geography

Pativilca-Caraz-Huallanca Route

Tourism

Transportation

Political division

Additional facts

References

External links

History

Between the years 400 and 600 BC, the first Peruvian civilization, known as Chavín, originated and flourished in this zone. The importance of this culture lies not only in its antiquity but in the history and culture it shares with other cultures along the Andean and Amazonian territories. As archaeologist Julio C. Tello put it, "Chavín was the mother of all the cultures that later bloomed in the old Peru." The name ''Chavín'' comes from the Quechua word ''Chaupin'', which translates as ''center'' or ''headquarters''. Tello believed that people came from the Amazonas, scaled the Andes, and developed the Chavín culture.
During the Inca age, the population of the Santa valley was assimilated into the Inca empire by Pachacuti.
The first Spaniards came to Huaylas attracted by the fame of the silver veins of the region. In time, the Spanish destroyed the Inca cities. It was during this time that Jeronimo de Alvarado founded the city of Huaraz. Though in the Colonial Age this city held little importance and its artistic and cultural life did not have much relevance, it became the headquarters for Simón Bolívar during his campaign to liberate Peru.
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.
Today, most of the Ancash population is concentrated in the Callejón de Huaylas.

Geography

Ancash is a land of contrasts. It has two, great longitudinal valleys, that combine the mountain characteristics of the Callejón de Huaylas (Alley of Huaylas) and the ones of the sylvan Alto Marañón. Miles of sandy beaches abut the blue waters of the Pacific.
The territory of the coast, high plateaus and Andean ''punas'' of the Ancash Region are flat, while the rest of the territory, in the Andes, is very rough. In the west, slopes with strong declivity form narrow canyons with abrupt and deserted sides.
The rough territory of the region is crossed by two mountain ranges: on the
western side, it's the Cordillera Negra (the Black Mountain Range), which has peaks without glaciers, and on the eastern side, it's the Cordillera Blanca (the White Mountain Range), which has several peaks covered with snow and ice, like the Huascarán and the Alpamayo. Between these two mountain ranges, the Santa River flows through the so-called Callejón de Huaylas. This alley narrows to form the Cañón del Pato (Duck Canyon). Also along the Pacific slopes, the Santa River has shaped a wide valley in the ''punas'' which narrows into the Cordillera Negra where the Cañón del Pato canyon was formed.
The snow-covered peak of Huascarán, highest summit of Peru and second of the Americas, reaches a height of 6,768 m (22,205 ft, 4.2 miles) and contrasts with the 6,263 m (20,548 ft) deep trough of Chimbote found in the ocean west of Ancash. Remnants of glaciers created many lagoons, such as Llanganuco and Paron.
Following the Pan-American highway north from Lima, the territory of the region of Ancash begins just beyond the Fortress of Paramonga, between wide fields of sugarcane, and across the Fortaleza River, 206 kilometres (128 mi) from Lima.
Along the coast of Ancash, from the Fortaleza River to the Santa River, the Pacific exerts great influence. The Peruvian current and the El Niño current exert considerable and sometimes tragic effect on local lives and regional economies.
Normally, the Peruvian current, also known as the Humboldt Current, brings cold water and lots of fish. With the development of the shoals of anchoveta, the Ancash ports and creeks became commercial fishing centers. During the 1950s, the bay of Chimbote was the top fishing port of the world.^[1]
However, when warmer waters from the north, such as the current of El Niño, bring catastrophic rains to the coast and sea, the shoals of anchoveta disappear, the fishing fleets plants are paralyzed, and flooding rivers cause serious damage to the lands and cities. The cycles of these two sea currents that affect Peru are hard to predict.^[2]
Further north along the Pan-American highway, numerous islands and islets dot the sea near the coast. Most are home only to guano seabirds. From south to north, the most important islands include:

★ Tortuga Island (Turtle Island)

★ La Viuda Island (The Widow Island)

★ Blanca Island (White Island)

★ Santa Island (Holy Island)
The coastal region of Peru includes many peninsulas, creeks, warm bays and sand beaches, full of color. Because of the lack of roads and difficult terrain, many of these are inaccessible by land. The most important beaches include:

★ Grande Beach

★ La Gramita Beach

★ Las Salinas Beach
Much of this coast is a monotonous stretch of huge sand deserts, a common denominator in all Peruvian coastal regions because of the influence of the Humboldt Current.
Along the rivers, there are green valleys, cultivated mainly with sugarcane, rice and cotton.
From south to north, the main rivers of the Ancash coast are the following:

★ Huarmey River

★ Culebras River

★ Casma River

★ Sechín River

★ Nepeña River

★ Lacramarca River

★ Santa River
Of these rivers, the only one with water year-round is the Santa River; its sources are the Cordillera Blanca's glaciers and lagoons. The other rivers, as with most rivers of the Peruvian coast, are intermittent, depending on the highland rains or the advance of El Niño.

Pativilca-Caraz-Huallanca Route

The historical village of Pativilca (department of Lima), where Simón Bolívar planned his Peruvian liberty expedition, is 202 kilometres (126 mi) north of Lima on the Pan-American Highway. At this point begins the highway that leads to the Callejón de Huaylas. This road is completely paved, although it often has to be repaired because of the extreme damage caused by the ''huaycos'' (avalanches) and the rains. The same problem affects most Peruvian roads, especially the ones in the mountains and rainforest.
This highway is 287 kilometres (178 mi) long, with an extremely comfortable course, especially in the steep climbing stretches through the Cordillera Negra (Black Range) up to the summit of Conococha, 4,100 metres (13,451 ft) above sea level. From there, the road begins to go down toward the Callejón de Huaylas.
The trip Lima-Huaraz of 408 kilometres (254 mi) can be made in six hours by car. Modern buses take eight hours in the same stretch.
East of Pativilca, for about 20 kilometres (12 mi) the highway passes between wide fields planted with sugarcane in extensive fields, parallel to the Fortaleza river bed.
At Huaricanga town, the road enters the department of Ancash. At this point, the highway begins a slow ascent of the first spurs of the Cordillera Negra. This stretch continues for about 50 kilometres (31 mi). The climb gets suddenly steeper beyond the towns of Chasquitambo and Chaucayán, with many bends and serpentines.

Tourism

Ancash's geographical center, the ''Callejón de Huaylas'', is an area of intense interest to tourists. This is due to its large variety of natural attractions, its sport and recreational facilities, and the nearby archaeological remains of the ancient cultures that once flourished there. The Cordillera Blanca, the highest peak in the Peruvian Andes, offers an interesting attraction for tourists visiting Peru. Visitors also come to see the natural beauty of the area's glaciers and valleys and to enjoy the many lagoons and thermal fountains.
Ancash is sometimes referred to as the "Switzerland of Peru." There is the four mile high Huascarán, home to the Huascarán National Park. There is also the Alpamayo peak, considered one of the most beautiful in the world.
Among archaeological sites of interest, Ancash has many vestiges of old cultures, including the ''Guitarrero Cave'' (10,000 BC), the pre-Columbian ruins of ''Chavín de Huántar''. ''Hunsakay'', ''Willkawain'', ''Sechín'', and ''Pañamarca'' are also well-known.

Transportation

There are five main highways that cross the region:

★ The North Pan-American highway, that crosses the coast of Ancash longitudinally.

★ Three east-west highways that connect the coast with the region of the highlands, most importantly the Callejón de Huaylas:

★
★ Pativilca - Huallanca

★
★ Casma - Huaraz

★
★ Chimbote - Huallanca.

★ One highway that crosses the Callejón de Conchucos (Conchucos Alley) longitudinally, to the east of the Cordillera Blanca.
In addition, the region has a network of local roads.

Political division

The region is divided into 20 provinces (''provincias'', singular: ''provincia''), which comprise 166 districts (''distritos'', singular: ''distrito''). Its capital is Huaraz.
The provinces and their capitals are:

'PROVINCE'	'CAPITAL'	'DISTRICT'
Aija	Aija	5
Antonio Raimondi	Llamellín	6
Asunción	Chacas	2
Bolognesi	Chiquián	15
Carhuaz	Carhuaz	11
Carlos F. Fitzcarrald	San Luis	3
Casma	Casma	4
Corongo	Corongo	7
Huaraz	Huaraz	12
Huari	Huari	16
Huarmey	Huarmey	5
Huaylas	Caraz	10
Mariscal Luzuriaga	Piscobamba	8
Ocros	Orcos	10
Pallasca	Cabana	11
Pomabamba	Pomabamba	4
Recuay	Recuay	10
Santa	Chimbote	9
Sihuas	Sihuas	10
Yungay	Yungay	8

Additional facts

'Weather'	Warm and semitropical
'Temperature'	Annual average 16.2 °C (61.2 °F)
'Road network'	4,429 kilometres (2,752 mi)
'Illiteracy rate'	21%
'Child mortality rate'	43 per thousand
'Distances'	Huaraz to Lima, 408 kilometres (254 mi) Huaraz to Trujillo, 335 kilometres (208 mi) Huaraz to Cajamarca, 636 kilometres (395 mi)

References

1. [1] Peru Ministry of Education, "Reseña histórica." Retrieved on August 7, 2007.
2. [2] Villalobos, Roberto Flores and Alberto, José Retana, "El Niño: Una Revisión Bibliográfica." Retrieved on August 7, 2007.

External links

Ancash Region, Travel