Peru

Peru

Peru is a country on the West coast of South America containing the Andes Mountains, the Amazon Rainforest, and other coastal regions. The main languages spoken in Peru are Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara. The population is about 32 million as of April 2017. The current president of Peru is Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, he was elected in 2016, he is the 66th President of Peru.

Ancient Peru was famous for the start of several ancient civilizations, the most notable of them was the Incas. The Inca civilization was conquered during the 16th century by Spanish conquistadors. In 1821 Peru called for independence from Spain. Spanish forces were finally defeated in 1824. In 1980 Peru returned to democratic leadership after years of military rule.

Peru is also famous for the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu, which is located high up in the Andes Mountains. Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century and later abandoned. Archaeologists say that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Incan Emperor Pachacuti.

Peru is on the Western coast of South American facing the Pacific Ocean. Neighboring countries are Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador. Peru is consider a small country it is only about 496,200 square miles.

There are three different climate regions in Peru. The coast is fertile and good for crops. It is warm without extreme heat or cold. High humidity and dense fog make it feel cooler in the winter. The northern mountains are lower and more humid, the central mountains are the tallest and steepest while the southern mountains are wider. There are two seasons in the mountains, summer is April through October with sunny days and cold nights and very little rain. In the winter it rains heavily. Temperatures can reach 29 degrees Celsius and can fall to negative three degrees Celsius at night. In the jungle, November through March, it rains heavily and frequently and the river rises making roads hard to access, April through October it is fairly dry, the river subsides and makes roads more easily accessible. The jungle is known for it’s high humidity all year round.

The largest ethnic groups are the Amerindian at 45% of the population and the Mestizo at 37% of the populations, other ethnic groups are, the Spanish, the Quechua, the Aymara and the Ashaninka.

The government is a democratic republic. The government powers are the President of the Republic, the legislative power, and the judicial power. The President of the Republic and the 130 members of the government are elected every five years by a vote.