Department of Ancash

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Template:Infobox Peru region Ancash is a region located in northern Peru. It is bordered by the La Libertad region on the north, the Huánuco 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.

Demographics

Most of the Ancash population is concentrated in the Callejón de Huaylas.

Geography

Ancash is a department of contrasts. It has two great longitudinal valleys, that combine the mountain original characteristics of the Callejón de Huaylas (Alley of Huaylas) and the not less original ones of the silvan Alto Marañón. It also has wonderful coastal sandy grounds and a rich sea. All of these places, constitute a unit of singular characteristics. No wonder it was the theater of appearance of the three times millenarian culture: Chavín. Chavín was the first top Peruvian culture, according to the wise man Julio C. Tello,

Chavín was the mother of all the cultures that bloomed in old Peru".

Besides Julio C. Tello considered that people came from the Amazonas scaled the Andes and developed the Chavín culture. The territory of the coast, high plateaus and Andean punas of the Ancash Region are flat, while the rest of its territory, occupied by the Andes, is very rough. In the west, slopes with strong declivity have been shaped in narrow canyons with abrupt and deserted sides.

Huascarán, the highest summit in Peru.

It should also be noted that opposite the height of the formidable Huascarán, highest summit of Peru and second of America, that reaches 6,768 m, the deep trough of Chimbote is in the sea of Ancash, with 6,263 m of depth. This contrast shows the unit of a vertical wall of dreadful dimensions: 13,031 m.

The rough territory of the department is crossed by two mountain ranges: in the Western side, it's the Cordillera Negra (the Black mountain range) and in the Eastern side, it's the Cordillera Blanca (the White mountain range), between which the Santa river flows through the so-called Callejón de Huaylas. This alley, when narrowing itself, forms the Cañón del Pato (the Duck Canyon). Also in the Pacific slopes, the Santa River has shaped a wide valley in the punas which is getting narrow each time until cut the Cordillera Negra where the majestic Cañón del Pato Canyon has been formed.

Most of the Ancash population is concentrated in the Callejón de Huaylas formed by the Blanca and Negra Cordilleras (mountain ranges). Two areas are the most outstanding surfaces in the topography of Ancash: the Cordillera Negra located on the west of the Callejón de Huaylas, which has peaks without glaciers; and the Cordillera Blanca located on the east, which has several peaks covered with snow and ice, such as the Huascarán, which is the highest peak in Peru (6768 m above sea level), and the Alpamayo. Likewise, there are many lagoons that originated from glaciers like Llanganuco and Paron.

File:Plazachimbote1.jpg
Main Square of Chimbote

Sea and Coast

Following the North Pan-American highway from Lima, the territory of the department of Ancash begins just after passing through the Fortress of Paramonga, between expanded plains of sugarcane, and crossing the Fortaleza river (at 206 km of Lima).

In all the extension of the coast of Ancash, from the Fortaleza river to the Santa River in its northern limit with the department of La Libertad, the great influence that the sea exerts in the coastal region of the country, specially in the coast of Ancash, is well noticed. The Peruvian current or Humboldt Current and the current of el Niño affects considerably, sometimes in a tragic way, the life and the regional economy at diverse times of the year and in different ways.

During the times the cold water Peruvian current has a great influence -that are practically the normal ones-, a great fishing peak takes place, mainly with the development of the shoals of anchoveta. These times turned the Ancash ports and creeks into fishing commercial centers. Also during the seventies, the great bay of Chimbote became the first fishing port of the world.

The current of el Niño, that comes from the Ecuadorian north, originates a true catastrophe in the coast and the sea. The exploited shoals of anchoveta disappear, the fishing fleets and plants are paralyzed, great rains take place and the rivers cause very serious damages to the lands and cities, with violent floods.

Up to now, nobody has been able to establish the cycles of these two sea currents that transform the Peruvian coast.

Going through the North Pan-American highway, it is easy to discern numerous islands and islets; most of them are home of guano seabirds. From South to North, the most important islands are:

It can also be observed the not homogeneous outline of the Peruvian coast, with a lot of peninsulas, creeks, warm bays and sand beaches full of local color. Most of them are inaccessible to travel by land because of the lack of roads. The main beaches are:

Most of the extension of this coast is a monotonous continuation of huge sand deserts, which is a common denominator in all the Peruvian coastal region, due to the influence of the Humboldt Current, which prevents rains.

Rivers

Next to the rivers, there are green valleys, like oases, that are mainly cultivated with sugarcane, rice and cotton.

Coming from south to north, the main rivers of the Ancash coast are the following:

From all these rivers, the only one that has water all the year is the Santa River, because its sources come from the Cordillera Blanca's glaciers and lagoons.

The other rivers have, like most of the other rivers of the Peruvian coast, a completely irregular pattern, depending on the rains in the highlands or the advance of the current of el Niño.

History

Between the years 400 and 600 BC, the Chavín civilization flourished in this zone. The importance of this culture does not only lie on its antiquity, but also in its shared history and culture found in other cultures along the Andean and Amazonian territories. The name Chavín originates from the Quechua word Chaupin which translates as center or headquarters. During the Inca age, the population of the Santa valley was assimilated into the Inca empire by Pachacuti.[citation needed]

The first Spaniards came to Huaylas attracted by the fame of the silver veins of the region. But the Native Americans' quest for silver and gold provoked the Spanish to destroy the Inca cities.[citation needed] 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 Simón Bolívar during his campaign to liberate Peru.[citation needed]

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.

Tourism

Ancash's geographical center, the Callejón de Huaylas, is an area with intense touristic attraction. 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 Huascarán, home to the Huascarán National Park. There is also the Alpamayo peak, considered amongst the most beautiful in the world.[citation needed]

Among archaeological sites of interest, Ancash has many vestiges of old cultures, including the Guitarrero Cave (10,000 BC), the Pre-columbian ruins of Chavín de Huántar. Hunsakay,Willkawain, Sechín, and Pañamarca are also well-known.

Transportation

There are five main highways which cross the region:

Outside of these are some routes that form very interesting circuits in the local roads.

Political division

Political division of Ancash

The region is divided into 20 provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are comprised of 166 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). Its capital is the province of Huaraz.

The provinces and their capitals are:

PROVINCE CAPITAL DISTRICT
Aija Aija 5
Antonio Raimondi Llamellín 6
Asunción Chacas 2
Bolognesi Chiquián 15
Carhuaz Carhuaz 11
Carlos F. Fitzcarrald San Luis 3
Casma Casma 4
Corongo Corongo 7
Huaraz Huaraz 12
Huari Huari 16
Huarmey Huarmey 5
Huaylas Caraz 10
Mariscal Luzuriaga Piscobamba 8
Ocros Ocros 10
Pallasca Cabana 11
Pomabamba Pomabamba 4
Recuay Recuay 10
Santa Chimbote 9
Sihuas Sihuas 10
Yungay Yungay 8

Climate, Rates and Distance information

Weather Warm and Semitropical.
Temperature Annual average 16.2° C
Road network 4,429 km
Illiteracy rate 21%
Child mortality rate 43 per thousand
Distances 
 From Huaraz to Lima 408 km

 From Huaraz to Trujillo 335 km

 From Huaraz to Cajamarca 636 km
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