Ancash Region
Ancash is a region in northern Peru. It is bordered by the La Libertad region on the north, the Huanuco and Pasco regions on the east, the Lima region on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz, and its largest city and port is Chimbote. The name of the region originates from the Quechua word anqash, which means blue.
History
Between the years 400 and 600 BC, the first Peruvian civilization, known as Chavin, originated and flourished in this zone. The importance of this culture lies not only in its antiquity but in the history and culture it shares with other cultures along the Andean and Amazonian territories. As archaeologist Julio C. Tello put it, "Chavin was the mother of all the cultures that later bloomed in the old Peru." The name Chavin comes from the Quechua word Chaupin, which translates as center or headquarters. Tello believed that people came from the Amazonas, scaled the Andes, and developed the Chavin culture.
During the Inca age, the population of the Santa valley was assimilated into the Inca empire by Pachacuti.
The first Spaniards came to Huaylas attracted by the fame of the silver veins of the region. In time, the Spanish destroyed the Inca cities. It was during this time that Jeronimo de Alvarado founded the city of Huaraz. Though in the Colonial Age this city held little importance and its artistic and cultural life did not have much relevance, it became the headquarters for Simon Bolivar during his campaign to liberate Peru.
The 1970 Ancash earthquake devastated the region, killing more than 50,000 people and damaging 186,000 houses in one of the deadliest natural disasters in Peru.
Today, most of the Ancash population is concentrated in the Callejon de Huaylas.
Geography
Ancash is a land of contrasts. It has two, great longitudinal valleys, that combine the mountain characteristics of the Callejon de Huaylas (Alley of Huaylas) and the ones of the sylvan Alto Maranon. Miles of sandy beaches abut the blue waters of the Pacific.
The territory of the coast, high plateaus and Andean punas of the Ancash Region are flat, while the rest of the territory, in the Andes, is very rough. In the west, slopes with strong declivity form narrow canyons with abrupt and deserted sides.
The rough territory of the region is crossed by two mountain ranges: on the
western side, it's the Cordillera Negra (the Black Mountain Range), which has peaks without glaciers, and on the eastern side, it's the Cordillera Blanca (the White Mountain Range), which has several peaks covered with snow and ice, like the Huascaran and the Alpamayo. Between these two mountain ranges, the Santa River flows through the so-called Callejon de Huaylas. This alley narrows to form the Canon del Pato (Duck Canyon). Also along the Pacific slopes, the Santa River has shaped a wide valley in the punas which narrows into the Cordillera Negra where the Canon del Pato canyon was formed.
The snow-covered peak of Huascaran, highest summit of Peru and second of the Americas, reaches a height of 6,768 m and contrasts with the 6,263 m deep trough of Chimbote found in the ocean west of Ancash. Remnants of glaciers created many lagoons, such as Llanganuco and Paron.
Following the Pan-American highway north from Lima, the territory of the region of Ancash begins just beyond the Fortress of Paramonga, between wide fields of sugarcane, and across the Fortaleza River, 206 kilometres from Lima.
Along the coast of Ancash, from the Fortaleza River to the Santa River, the Pacific exerts great influence. The Peruvian current and the El Nino current exert considerable and sometimes tragic effect on local lives and regional economies.
Normally, the Peruvian current, also known as the Humboldt Current, brings cold water and lots of fish. With the development of the shoals of anchoveta, the Ancash ports and creeks became commercial fishing centers. During the 1950s, the bay of Chimbote was the top fishing port of the world.
However, when warmer waters from the north, such as the current of El Nino, bring catastrophic rains to the coast and sea, the shoals of anchoveta disappear, the fishing fleets plants are paralyzed, and flooding rivers cause serious damage to the lands and cities. The cycles of these two sea currents that affect Peru are hard to predict.
Further north along the Pan-American highway, numerous islands and islets dot the sea near the coast. Most are home only to guano seabirds. From south to north, the most important islands include:
Tortuga Island (Turtle Island)
La Viuda Island (The Widow Island)
Blanca Island (White Island)
Santa Island (Holy Island)
The coastal region of Peru includes many peninsulas, creeks, warm bays and sand beaches, full of color. Because of the lack of roads and difficult terrain, many of these are inaccessible by land. The most important beaches include:
Grande Beach
La Gramita Beach
Las Salinas Beach
Much of this coast is a monotonous stretch of huge sand deserts, a common denominator in all Peruvian coastal regions because of the influence of the Humboldt Current.
Along the rivers, there are green valleys, cultivated mainly with sugarcane, rice and cotton.
From south to north, the main rivers of the Ancash coast are the following:
Huarmey River
Culebras River
Casma River
Sechin River
Nepena River
Lacramarca River
Santa River
Of these rivers, the only one with water year-round is the Santa River; its sources are the Cordillera Blanca's glaciers and lagoons. The other rivers, as with most rivers of the Peruvian coast, are intermittent, depending on the highland rains or the advance of El Nino.
Pativilca-Caraz-Huallanca Route
The historical village of Pativilca (department of Lima), where Simon Bolivar planned his Peruvian liberty expedition, is 202 kilometres north of Lima on the Pan-American Highway. At this point begins the highway that leads to the Callejon de Huaylas. This road is completely paved, although it often has to be repaired because of the extreme damage caused by the huaycos (avalanches) and the rains. The same problem affects most Peruvian roads, especially the ones in the mountains and rainforest.
This highway is 287 kilometres long, with an extremely comfortable course, especially in the steep climbing stretches through the Cordillera Negra (Black Range) up to the summit of Conococha, 4,100 metres above sea level. From there, the road begins to go down toward the Callejon de Huaylas.
The trip Lima-Huaraz of 408 kilometres can be made in six hours by car. Modern buses take eight hours in the same stretch.
East of Pativilca, for about 20 kilometres the highway passes between wide fields planted with sugarcane in extensive fields, parallel to the Fortaleza river bed.
At Huaricanga town, the road enters the department of Ancash. At this point, the highway begins a slow ascent of the first spurs of the Cordillera Negra. This stretch continues for about 50 kilometres . The climb gets suddenly steeper beyond the towns of Chasquitambo and Chaucayan, with many bends and serpentines.
The White Mountain Range: The highest tropical mountain range of the world
This mountain range is composed by gigantic summits covered with snow, which are between the most beautiful of the world. The White mountain range is considered the highest tropical mountain range of the world. It limits the Callejon de Huaylas to the east. It has an extension of 180 km.
It has 35 peaks that are higher than 6000 m and many other smaller ones, a real symphony of summits with different grades of difficulty in climbing.
This mountain range was called White, not only for its eternal snow but also for the chemical constitution of its quartz and feldspar rocks. It has the highest summit in Peru and the second one in America after the Aconcagua: the Huascaran, whose south peak reaches 6768 msnm. Huascaran's north peak reaches 6655 m.
The Alpamayo, which height has been estimated in 6120 m, has been considered as <
The North Huandoy reaches 6395 m, the Huantsan reaches 6410 m, the Chopicalqui reaches 6354 m, the North Copa reaches 6173 m, the Artesonraju reaches 6025 m, the South Santa Cruz reaches 6259 and the Hualcan reaches 6126 m.
Tourism
Ancash's geographical center, the Callejon de Huaylas, is an area of intense interest to tourists. This is due to its large variety of natural attractions, its sport and recreational facilities, and the nearby archaeological remains of the ancient cultures that once flourished there. The Cordillera Blanca, the highest peak in the Peruvian Andes, offers an interesting attraction for tourists visiting Peru. Visitors also come to see the natural beauty of the area's glaciers and valleys and to enjoy the many lagoons and thermal fountains.
Ancash is sometimes referred to as the "Switzerland of Peru." There is the four mile high Huascaran, home to the Huascaran National Park. There is also the Alpamayo peak, considered one of the most beautiful in the world.
Among archaeological sites of interest, Ancash has many vestiges of old cultures, including the Guitarrero Cave , the pre-Columbian ruins of Chavin de Huantar. Hunsakay, Willkawain, Sechin, and Panamarca are also well-known.
Transportation
There are five main highways that cross the region:
The North Pan-American highway, that crosses the coast of Ancash longitudinally.
Three east-west highways that connect the coast with the region of the highlands, most importantly the Callejon de Huaylas:
*Pativilca - Huallanca
*Casma - Huaraz
*Chimbote - Huallanca.
One highway that crosses the Callejon de Conchucos (Conchucos Alley) longitudinally, to the east of the Cordillera Blanca.
In addition, the region has a network of local roads.
Political division
The region is divided into 20 provinces , which comprise 166 districts . Its capital is Huaraz.
The provinces and their capitals are:
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Ancash Region
