La Libertad Region
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La Libertad is a region in northwestern Peru. It is bordered by the Lambayeque, Cajamarca and Amazonas regions on the north, the San Martín Region on the east, the Ancash and Huánuco regions on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is Trujillo, which is the nation's third-largest city. The region's main port is located in Salaverry, which is also one of Peru's largest ports. The name of the region is Spanish for Freedom.
Geography
La Libertad is the only Peruvian region that reaches all three Peruvian natural regions (coast, Sierra (highlands) and rainforest).
Trujillo, the capital of the La Libertad Region, has a great geographical importance and a good location. It is the point where the Andes are linked to the Pacific Ocean, as a result of the direction the coasts follow. The Andes first are seen from Trujillo, showing a row of low-elevation hills, but from there on the Andean Plateau increases altitude sharply to the East, in the provinces of Otuzco and Santiago de Chuco. These two provinces comprise the Pacific hydrographic watershed, which give rise to the Moche and Virú rivers, to the south, and Chicama River to the north. Pacasmayo Province, located more to the north is a coastal province. Sánchez Carrión Province, to the east, belongs to the Atlantic watershed.
Political division
The region is divided into 12 provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 80 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). The provinces, with their capitals in parenthesis, are:
- Ascope (Ascope)
- Bolívar (Bolívar)
- Chepén (Chepén)
- Gran Chimú (Cascas)
- Julcán (Julcán)
- Otuzco (Otuzco)
- Pacasmayo (San Pedro de Lloc)
- Pataz (Tayabamba)
- Sánchez Carrión (Huamachuco)
- Santiago de Chuco (Santiago de Chuco)
- Trujillo (Trujillo)
- Virú (Virú)
Map_of_La_Libertad_region.PNG
Archaeology
The coastal strip set the stage for the rise of many pre-Columbian cultures, such as Cupisnique, which is more than 3,000 years old, and the pre-Ceramic Huaca Prieta civilization, whish is more than 5,000 years old. By the year 1,200 A.C., the first one to expand beyond its craddle was the Moche or Mochica culture. It was basically an agriculture and/or a warrior culture, which built countless temples and palaces such as the Sol (Sun), Luna (Moon), Esmeralda (Emerald), Arco Iris (Rainbow) and other "huacas". The Chimú culture emerged later and built its capital in Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America. At its zenith, Chan Chan was home to 100 000 inhabitants who stubbornly resisted the expansion of the Inca Empire.
Chan_Chan,_Peru.jpg
The archaeological remains of Chan Chan, 6 km (3.7 mi) northeast of Trujillo, are rather well-preserved although built with mud bricks ("adobe").
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