Amazonas Region
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Amazonas is a region in northern Peru. It is bordered by Ecuador on the north and west, the Cajamarca Region on the west, the La Libertad Region on the south and the Loreto and San Martín regions on the east. Its capital is the city of Chachapoyas. Template:Peru region table
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Geography
The Amazonas region is made up by of rainforest and Sierra (highlands), although the rainforest area is larger and extends northwards up to the border with Ecuador in the top of the Cordillera del Cóndor. The Sierra is located in the region's southern provinces and covers only one-fourth of its area.
The large and deep Marañón Valley, which constitutes another important morphological characteristic of this region, crosses a large part of its territory and expands from south to north getting its major amplitude in the zone of Bagua and then getting narrow after passing the Eastern Cordillera in its way to the Low Jungle, crossing the pongos, which means door in Quechua. The Utcubamba Valley goes longitudinally up to the Marañón River and constitutes the main center of production and human settlement.
History
The archaeological centers lost in the rainforest emerge as a testimony of presence of humans in the area since remote times. Most of the Pre-Hispanic cultures that became prosperous in the area are still a mystery due to the lack of research. The Kuélap's Fortress is the most representative monument of this age. It is a huge construction of military architecture which shows the high level of civilization achieved by the people of this region. The Chachapoyas culture developed during the Inca age and represented a strong opposition to the Tawantinsuyu by repealing the first Inca attempts to incorporate region to their empire.
Kuelap_Fortress.jpg
The region's capital, Chachapoyas, was founded in 1538 by Alonso de Alvarado. During the same year, its first church was built and later, the Santa Ana, San Lázaro and Señor de Burgos churches were built. In april 1821, the city's inhabitants expelled the Spaniards and ignored their authority, following the steps taken by the San Martín liberating army.
The area of the Amazonas Region was strongly linked to the independence thoughts and actions. The cleric Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza was its most outstanding representative, encouraging the patriots of this era and signing the National Act of Independence.
The Cordillera del Condor, located in this region, was the scenery of the war between Peru and Ecuador in 1981.
Provinces_of_Amazonas_region.PNG
Political division
The region is divided into seven provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 83 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). The provinces, with their capitals in parenthesis, are:
- Bagua (Bagua)
- Bongará (Villa de Jumbilla)
- Chachapoyas (Chachapoyas)
- Condorcanqui (Santa María de Nieva)
- Luya (Lamud)
- Rodríguez de Mendoza (Mendoza)
- Utcubamba (Bagua Grande)
External links
- Amazonas region official website (in Spanish) (http://www.regionamazonas.gob.pe)
- Peru Info: Amazonas Region (http://www.peru.com/peruinfo/ingles/info_dptos/amazonas/amazonas.htm)
Template:Regions of Perude:Amazonas (Region) es:Región Amazonas fr:Région d'Amazonas no:Amazonas, Peru sv:Amazonas (region)