Peru Geography Profile 2013

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

10 00 S, 76 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 1,285,216 sq km
land: 1,279,996 sq km
water: 5,220 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries

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

2,414 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 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 extremes

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m

Natural resources

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

Land use

arable land: 2.88%
permanent crops: 0.47%
other: 96.65% (2005)

Irrigated land

11,950 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

1,913 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 20.13 cu km/yr (8%/10%/82%)
per capita: 720 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity
volcanism: 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

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

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

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