Department of Loreto
Loreto
Departamento de Loreto ( Petroglyph, Sapi Sapi lagoon, Hot springs in the "Aguas Calientes" reserved area on the outskirts of Contamana, Amazon Ferry, The Marañón and Ucayali rivers meet nominally giving birth to the Amazon River in the district of Nauta . | |
---|---|
rubber and cebu cattle | |
Poverty rate | 24.9% |
Percentage of Peru's GDP | 2.51% |
Website | www.regionloreto.gob.pe |
Loreto (Spanish pronunciation:
Geography
- Northwest: Ecuador: Sucumbíos Province, Orellana Province, Pastaza Province and Morona-Santiago Province
- North: Colombia: Putumayo Department
- Northeast: Colombia: Amazonas Department
- East: Acre State
- South: Huánucoregions
- West: San Martín and Amazonasregions
Loreto's large territory comprises parts of the High and Low Jungle, and is largely covered with thick vegetation.
This territory has wide river flood plains, which are covered with rainwater and are usually swamped in summer. In these flood areas there are elevated sectors called restingas, which always remain above water, even in times of the greatest swellings. There are numerous lagoons known as cochas and tipishcas, surrounded by marshy areas with abundant grass vegetation.
Numerous rivers cross Loreto's territory, all of which are part of the Amazonian Hydrographical System. Most of them are navigable. The main river crossing the region is the
Climate
The weather is warm and humid with an average temperature of 17 °C (63 °F) to 20 °C (68 °F) during the months of June and July, and up to a high of 36 °C (97 °F) from December through March.
The average humidity level is 84%, with strong rain all year round.
Administrative divisions
The region is divided into eight provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 53 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are:
- Alto Amazonas (Yurimaguas)
- Datem del Marañón (San Lorenzo)
- Loreto (Nauta)
- Mariscal Ramón Castilla (Caballococha)
- Maynas (Iquitos)
- Requena (Requena)
- Ucayali (Contamana)
- Putumayo (San Antonio del Estrecho)
# | City | Population [1] |
---|---|---|
1 | Iquitos | 476,736
|
2 | Yurimaguas | 104,862
|
3 | Nauta | 34,702
|
4 | Requena | 28,348
|
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
The first settlers in the region expanded through the various eastern slopes of the
It is hard to determine the number of
On February 12, 1542, and after a search of several months, Spanish conqueror
Even though colonization had started several decades earlier, the city of Iquitos was founded in the 1750s. It is located between the Nanay River and the left bank of the Amazon river, which makes it an ideal starting point when traveling to surrounding regions.
During colonial times, the
When the missions fell, a long period of relative national neglect followed, encompassing most of the 19th century. Nonetheless, this was the time when the foundations of the future political organization were laid. Also, this was the beginning of navigation via steamboats, the rubber heyday, and foreign immigration.
The Golden Age of Iquitos started at the end of the 19th century with the
In 1853, the Littoral Province of Loreto was established, comprising today's
Demographics
Loreto is home to many
Languages
According to the
Province | Quechua
|
Aymara | Asháninka | Another native language | Foreign language | Deaf or mute | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alto Amazonas | 367 | 16 | 15 | 12,811 | 7 | 146 | 95,290 |
Datem del Marañón | 1,736 | 13 | 8 | 20,014 | 1 | 43 | 44,144 |
Loreto | 548 | 9 | 8 | 4,618 | 1 | 79 | 56,058 |
M. Ramón Castilla | 497 | 30 | 13 | 4,411 | 38 | 44 | 49,116 |
Maynas | 2,612 | 140 | 80 | 4,466 | 266 | 427 | 454,800 |
Requena | 29 | 6 | 16 | 1,449 | - | 64 | 59,125 |
Ucayali | 101 | 15 | 24 | 5,748 | 5 | 55 | 55,783 |
Total | 5,890 | 229 | 164 | 53,517 | 318 | 858 | 814,316 |
% | 0.72 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 6.57 | 0.04 | 0.11 | 100.00 |
Culture
Festivities
- First week of January. Anniversary of Iquitos. Week-long festivities to celebrate the founding of the city.
- Third week of February. Carnivals.
- June 24. Fiesta de San Juan. The local people go to the Nanay and Amazonas river banks, taking with them the traditional juanes, cooked on the eve. In front of the waters, they merrily drink and dance.
- First two weeks of August. A farm, livestock and crafts fair takes place in the small town of Santa Clara de Nanay, located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the city of Iquitos.
- September 7. Señora de la Natividad. Date in which the Tamshiyacu people, in the province of Maynas, honor their patron.
- December 8. Fiesta de la Purísima, celebrated in the district of Punchana, located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from Iquitos
Typical dishes and beverages
The typical dishes in Loreto are very similar to those of other places in the Amazon region. Motelo or turtle meat soup and juanes (rice tamales with chicken or fish) are typical Loretan dishes. Vendors in the local markets offer fried or steamed monkey or lizard meat considered delicious according to the local people.
Other typical dishes include, cecina (dried and smoked pork), tacacho (coal cooked bananas, pork, and chopped onions), chonta salad, palometa (fish soup), carachama (fish) and paiche (a large fish). Among desserts there is a refreshing aguaje ice cream.
To drink, they serve
Places of interest
- Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve
- Pucacuro Reserved Zone
- Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve
See also
- Peruvian Amazon
- Iquitos
- Yurimaguas
- Nauta
References
- ^ inei.gob.pe INEI, MINSA, Poblacion Peru 2022 Dpto Prov Dist sexo.
- ISBN 9781400040063.
- ^ "Historia de Moyobamba". Municipality of Moyobamba. Archived from the original on 2010-01-13.
- ISBN 978-0-8130-3378-5 [1]
- ^ inei.gob.pe Archived 2018-12-26 at the Wayback Machine INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007
External links
- Peruvian Amazon Research Institute
- (in Spanish) Loreto region official website
- videos of the Amazon Hopeproject in Loreto
- Estadisticas de Poblacion INEI, MINSA, Peru