Peru Geography 2021, CIA World Factbook

Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador

Area

total: 1,285,216 sq km

land: 1,279,996 sq km

water: 5,220 sq km

Area - comparative

almost twice the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries

total: 7,062 km

border countries (5): Bolivia 1212 km, Brazil 2659 km, Chile 168 km, Colombia 1494 km, Ecuador 1529 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 200 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm

Climate

varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes

Terrain

western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)

Elevation

highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,746 m

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 1,555 m

Natural resources

copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas

agricultural land: 18.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 14.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 53% (2018 est.)

other: 28.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

25,800 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

1,879,800,000,000 cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima; the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population; the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated

Natural hazards

earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (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; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

note 1: 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

note 2: Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: on 19 February 1600, Mount Huaynaputina in the southern Peruvian Andes erupted in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times; intermittent eruptions lasted until 5 March 1600 and pumped an estimated 16 to 32 million metric tons of particulates into the atmosphere reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface and affecting weather worldwide; over the next two and a half years, millions died around the globe in famines from bitterly cold winters, cool summers, and the loss of crops and animals

note 4: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato

NOTE: The information regarding Peru on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Peru 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Peru 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.

Peru Geography - 2021

Location

Geographic coordinates

Map references