Peru: Physical Geography

Peru lies on the central Pacific coast of South America, bordered by Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, and Chile to the south. The country is traditionally divided into three contrasting natural regions running roughly north to south: a narrow desert coastline known as the Costa, the high Andean highlands of the Sierra, and the forested lowlands of the Amazon basin, called the Selva, which spreads across the country's eastern interior.

The Sierra forms the backbone of Peru, carrying the Andes mountains through the center of the country in a series of parallel ranges. Huascarán, the country's highest peak at roughly 6,768 meters, rises in the Cordillera Blanca north of Lima. The highlands also hold Lake Titicaca, shared with Bolivia and often described as the world's highest navigable lake, along with high plateaus and basins where many Andean communities are settled.

East of the Andes, the Selva descends into the vast Amazon basin, which covers roughly three-fifths of Peru's territory in dense tropical rainforest. The Marañón and Ucayali rivers flow north through this region and join to form the Amazon, one of the river systems that has shaped Peru's eastern lowlands. Along the coast, the narrow Costa is largely arid, its desert plains cut by rivers descending from the Andes toward the Pacific Ocean.