When the Spanish arrived, they divided Peru into three main regions: the coastal region (11.6% of Peru), that is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; the highlands (28.1% of Peru), that is located on the Andean Heights, and the jungle, that is located on the Amazonian Jungle (Climate of Peru). But Javier Pulgar Vidal (es), a geographer who studied the biogeographic reality of the Peruvian territory for a long time, proposed the creation of eight Natural Regions. In 1941, he presented his thesis "Las Ocho Regiones Naturales del Perú" at the III General Assembly of the Pan-American Institute of Geography and History.
These eight Peruvian regions are: Chala or Coast (subtropical dry and tropical savanna) Yungas Fluvial Yunga Loma-Vegetation Quechua Suni or Jalca Puna Janca Rupa - Rupa or Highland Jungle Omagua or Lowland Jungle
Example: Andes 10°S
See also Altitudinal zonation
Classic version, Amazonic side
Sea level
Estimated 22 - 24°C (75°F), but the cold Humboldt Current generates fog on the coast side Tierra caliente (Hot land, tropical) up to 2,500 ft (about 750 m - 1,000 m). Crops: Cacao, Banana, Sugarcane, Manioc, Sweet Potatoes, Yams. Tierra templada (Temperate land, subtropical) up to 6,000 ft (about 1,850 m – 2,000 m) The warmest month has an average temperature of below 22°C or 72°F. Crops: Coffee, Tobacco, Maize, Coca, Peruvian Pepper (Schinus molle), Avocado, Guave (Psidium guajava), Cherimoya, Plum, Citrus fruits. Tierra fría (Cool land, temperate) below 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m, treeline) The warmest month has an average temperature of below 18°C or 64°F. Crops: Potato, Maize, Squash, Passionfruit, Papaya, Peach, Wheat, Rye, and Barley. Farming of cattle. Tierra helada (Cold land) above 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m) The definition of treeline of Coniferae: the warmest month has an average temperature of below 10°C or 50°F ). Crops above tree line: Quinoa, Cañigua, Mashua, Oca, Tarhui, Broad beans and Ulluco. Farming of Sheep, Llamas and Alpacas. Terrestrial Biome Type 10: Montane grasslands and shrublands Tierra Nevada (Janca), above the snow line, 15,000 ft (about 4,500 m - 5,000 m) Just warmer than -1°C over rocks or just warmer than -3°C over snow, annual mean temperature).
Javier Pulgar Vidal's version
The Peruvian geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal divided Peru in 8 regions (traditionally, it was costa, sierra and selva):
Map from República del Perú - Instituto Geográfico Nacional
Chala (West, Pacific Coast) 0– 500 m
Omagua (Lowland jungle or Selva baja, Amazonic rainforest) 80– 400 m
Rupa-Rupa (Highland jungle, Selva alta) 400– 1,000 m
Yungas (Aymaran for "Warm Lands", Cloud forest) Loma-Vegetation (West, "Yunga coastal" at the north of Peru) 450– 600 m Fluvial Yungas (East, "Yunga fluvial") 1,000- 2,300 m Quechua (East, High valleys) 2,300– 3,500 m Suni (or Jalca or Sallqa too, high plateaus and cliffs) 3,500– 4,100 m Puna (means "mountain top") 4,100– 4,800 m Janca (means white) above 4,800 m, permafrost, rocks, snow and ice
Notes
Biomes & Ecoregions nearby:
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Bolivian Yungas
Peruvian Yungas
Southwest Amazon moist forests
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Central Andean dry puna
Central Andean puna
Central Andean wet puna
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Atacama Desert
Sechura Desert
Overview - Amazonic side
Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
Belém, Brazil, 24 m, annual mean temperature 26.0°C
Gurupa várzea (NT0126) Manaus, Brazil, 72 m, annual mean temperature 26.6°C Monte Alegre várzea (NT0141) Purus várzea (NT0156) Colombia - Peru - Brazil border Leticia, Colombia, 84 m, annual mean temperature 25.8°C Tierra Caliente or Tropical rainforest Omagua or Selva baja (Southwest Amazon moist forests - NT0166) Iquitos, Peru, 126 m, annual mean temperature 26.2°C Rupa-Rupa or Selva alta (Iquitos várzea - NT0128) Yunga fluvial (more than 5°C colder than the Peruan Tropics) Peruvian Yungas (NT0153) Quechua (High valleys, more than 10°C colder than the Peruan Tropics) Tree line Tierra Helada Suni (plateau) Mountain pass Puna (mountain slope) Central Andean wet puna (NT1003) Central Andean puna (NT1002) "Andean-Alpine desert" Snow line Tierra Nevada or Janca Peak