Peru Geography 2008

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: 1,285,220 sq km
land: 1.28 million 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:
12,000 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

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