ABSTRACT
Peru's landscape is oppressive. Human traces are scattered, as if concealed by the dimensions of the topography. The terrain is very irregular: lofty mountains, deep valleys, desolate plateaus, rugged seashores, rolling forests crossed by many rivers. The major geographical zones are the coast in the west, the inter-Andean region in the center, and the selva, or forest, in the east. In such a country, life is present in isolated patches. A map showing the flora, fauna, and demography of Peru looks like the map of an archipelago, one in which diversity and abundance are by no means the predominant characteristics. Peru's climate is one of great diversity, and there are violent contrasts between the dryness of the coast and the humidity of the jungle, between the heat of the latter and the cold of the Andean region. The cities are almost always a short distance inland, close to the rivers that descend from the Andes and plunge into the ocean.
