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Peru

from the cold offshore current known as the Peru Current (also called the Humboldt Current). The Chilly Sierras Peru’s sierra, or Andean highland, region ranges from 52 to 155 miles (84 to 249 km) wide and covers 30 percent of the country’s territory. The Andes Mountains run through Peru north to south, separating the Pacific coast in the west from the Amazon Basin rain forest in the east. In Peru the Andes divide into two major systems: the Cordillera Occidental (western) and the Cordillera Oriental (eastern). The Peruvian Andes boast 174 snow-capped peaks over 16,000 feet (4,880 meters) high. Thirty-nine peaks rise above 19,600 feet (5,978 meters) high. The highest of all is Huascarán, at 22,205 feet (6,768 meters). That’s more than 4 miles (6 km) in the air! At that elevation the climate is arctic. Below the peaks, the altiplanos, or high plateaus—12,500 to 14,100 feet (3,813 to 4,301 meters) above sea level—end abruptly at the edge of deep canyons carved by the Apurímac, Cotahuasi, and Colca Rivers. In southeast- ern Peru, on the border with Bolivia, lies the world’s highest navigable lake, Titicaca. The lake, at about 12,500 feet (3,813 meters) above sea level, contains more than 40 islands and is rimmed by important archaeological sites and beautiful Spanish colonial towns. In the sierra region, the temperature ranges during the year from about 20°F to 70°F (-7°C to 21°C). Precipitation is usually limited, because parts of the sierra rise above the rain clouds. But in some lower areas, heavy rains fall from October to April. In the southeastern sierra, for example, annual rainfall