Ancash Region - Geography

Geography

Ancash is a land of contrasts. It has two, great longitudinal valleys, which combine the mountain characteristics of the Callejón de Huaylas (Alley of Huaylas) with the sylvan ones of the Alto Marañón. Miles of sandy beaches and 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, the Cordillera Negra (the Black Mountain Range), which has peaks without glaciers, and on the eastern side, the Cordillera Blanca (the White Mountain Range), which has many 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 large numbers 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.

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, leaving the fishing fleets plants 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.

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.