9781422286456

Land of Contrasts 13

Sunrise along the Tambopata River in the Peruvian Amazon.

averages 32 inches (81 cm). The eastern slopes of the Andes receive more than 100 inches (254 cm) of rain annually because storm systems stall against the towering mountainsides. Runoff feeds major rivers and fast-flowing streams, about 50 of which start in the sierra and descend steeply to the coastal plain. The Humid Jungle East of the sierra and extending to the borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Bolivia lies Peru’s largest natural region—the jungle. Covering