| Geography | Peru |  = Fields  = World Records  = Dictionary  = Bar graph  = Distribution map  = Fields History  = Definitions |
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Location:
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Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador |
Geographic coordinates:
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10 00 S, 76 00 W |
Map references:
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South America |
Area:
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total: 1,285,216 sq km
land: 1,279,996 sq km
water: 5,220 sq km |
Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Alaska |
Land boundaries:
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total: 7,461 km
border countries: Bolivia 1,075 km, Brazil 2,995 km, Chile 171 km, Colombia 1,800 km, Ecuador 1,420 km |
Coastline:
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2,414 km |
Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm |
Climate:
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varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes |
Terrain:
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western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva) |
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m |
Natural resources:
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copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas |
Land use:
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arable land: 2.88%
permanent crops: 0.47%
other: 96.65% (2005) |
Irrigated land:
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11,950 sq km (2008) |
Total renewable water resources:
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1,913 cu km (2000) |
Total renewable water resources - per capita:
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65,405 cubic meters per capita |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 20.13 cu km/yr (8%/10%/82%)
per capita: 720 cu m/yr (2000) |
Natural hazards:
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earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity
volcanism: Peru experiences volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (elev. 5,672 m), which last erupted in 2009, is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane |
Environment - current issues:
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deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes |
Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note:
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shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River |
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This page was last updated on 3 February, 2012 |
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