Lima Nimaja (Jaqaru) | |
|---|---|
 Jirishanca andRondoy mountains | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.svg) Location of Lima within Peru | |
| Coordinates:11°51′S76°27′W / 11.85°S 76.45°W /-11.85; -76.45 | |
| Country | Peru |
| Established | August 4, 1821 |
| Capital | Lima[a] |
| Provinces | |
| Government | |
| • Type | Regional Government[a] |
| • Governor | Rosa Vásquez Cuadrado |
| Area | |
• Total | 32,129.31 km2 (12,405.20 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 5,654 m (18,550 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 864,853 |
| • Density | 26.9179/km2 (69.7170/sq mi) |
| Demonym | limeño/a |
| UBIGEO | 15 |
| Dialing code | 01 |
| ISO 3166 code | PE-LIM |
| Website | www |
Lima (Spanish pronunciation:[ˈlima];Jaqaru:Nimaja,[niˈmaxa]) is adepartment of Peru. Located in the country's central coast, it is administered by aregional government based inHuacho, whose jurisdiction does not include thequasi-autonomous special regime of theprovince of Lima, coterminous with the country's capital,Lima.
The name comes from one of two sources: Either the Aymara languagelima-limaq (meaning "yellow flower"), or the Spanish pronunciation of theQuechua wordrimaq (meaning "talker", and actually written and pronouncedlimaq in the nearbyQuechua I languages). It is worth nothing that the same Quechua word is also the source of the name given to the river that feeds the city, theRímac River (pronounced as in the politically dominantQuechua II languages, with an "r" instead of an "l"). It is known inJaqaru, a language spoken in the department's districts ofCatahuasi andTupe, asNimaja.
It was also known simply as theDepartment of the Capital from 1821 until 1823.[3]
On the northern coast of the region, the first known civilization in the Americas,Caral, emerged around the 4th millennium BC, with some characteristics that were maintained by later cultures ofPre-Columbian Peru: the use of thequipu, regional trade, and monumental religious architecture. TheAymara andQuechua language families also originated in this region.
The remains of early Andean inhabitants,hunters and harpoon fishermen from more than 6500 years ago, are to be found in the department. Theey were found inChivateros, near theChillón River, and in various other places. These persons incorporated nets, hooks, farming, ceramics and weaving to their everyday objects. The inhabitants of the coast lived in thelomas and the valleys, where they built temples and dwelling complexes, leading to huge ceremonial centres, such as theHuacoy andAncón ((where lithic prehistoric projectile points ofPaijan were found) on theChillón River;Garagay andLa Florida on theRímac River,Manchay on theLurín River; andChancay,Supe and many other valleys to the north and south. There are finely ornamented temples with figures modelled in clay. The 5,000-year-old ruins known asEl Paraíso are also located in this area.
TheLima culture (100 to 650 AD) arose in this area, specially in the central valleys fromChancay toLurín. It was distinguished by painted adobe buildings. During this time, theHuari conquest took place, thus giving rise to Huari-style ceramics, together with a local style known as Nievería. As the population grew, their culture changed. With the decline of the Huari, whose most important center wasCajamarquilla, new local cultures arose. TheChancay are the most well-known. They developed large urban centers and a considerable textile production, as well as mass-produced ceramics.
At this stage in the mid-15th century, theIncas arrived from their base in the Andes. They conquered and absorbed the regional cultures and occupied important sites such asPachacamac, turning it into an administrative centre.
The Spanishconquered and occupied the area in the 16th century. From 1784 to 1821, the area (today part of Lima—exceptCajatambo andOyón—andIca, as well of the coast ofAncash) was administered as theIntendancy of Lima (theCercado de la Capital), subdivided intopartidos. During thePeruvian War of Independence, the town ofHuaura served as the location for the first proclamation of the independence of Peru.José de San Martín made the announcement froma balcony on November 27, 1820.
TheDepartment of the Coast (Spanish:Departamento de la Costa) was established on February 12, 1821, through anofficial document issued by San Martín that also created the departments ofHuaylas,Tarma andTrujillo, each headed by a president. Their jurisdiction extended to the territory occupied by theLiberating Expedition of Peru.[4] Its capital was Huaura, the seat of its president, whose lone officeholder wasVicente Dupuy [es].[5] It was subdivided into three provinces:Santa,Chancay [es], andCanta. It was represented at the firstCongress of Peru in 1822 by the following:[6][7][8]
| Constituent Deputy | |
|---|---|
| Title | Name |
| Titular | Toribio Dávalos [es] |
| Titular | Cayetano Requena [es] |
| Titular | Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza |
| Substitute | Pedro Sayán [es] |
San Martín's forces did not reachLima—located south of the department—for five more months, where he again proclaimed the independence of Peru on July 28, 1821. This time, the announcement took place in four of the city's urban squares:La Merced,Plaza Mayor,Santa Ana andInquisición.[9] The announcement in the main square was made from theCasa del Oidor
TheDepartment of the Capital (Spanish:Departamento de la Capital) was created through the a Provisional Statute of August 4, 1821,[3] composed of thepartidos ofCercado de la Capital,Yauyos,Cañete, andIca, also including thegovernment of Huarochirí. On November 4, 1823, the department of the Coast was annexed into its territory.[4][10] In 1835, Santa was transferred to Huaylas.
On August 11, 1836, theRepublic of North Peru was created following acivil war. Nine days later,Callao was granted autonomy by ProtectorAndrés de Santa Cruz. On October 28, North Peru, to which thedepartment of Lima belonged, joined thePeru–Bolivian Confederation. TheWar of the Confederation threatened the country's stability, with aseccessionist government headed byLuis José de Orbegoso taking control of North Peru. Orbegoso's forces were defeated in aconfrontation that took place north of Lima. TheChilean–dissident Peruvian alliance eventually defeated the Confederate forces, and the state dissolved in 1839.
In 1855, theprovince of Ica was separated from the department. It was elevated eleven years later byMariano Ignacio Prado. TheVilla de Huacho was elevated to city level through the law of November 10, 1874, which also made it the provincial capital. The law was passed byManuel Pardo.
In 1879, a war between a Peruvian–Bolivian alliance against Chile began, known as theWar of the Pacific. The latter's miiltary campaign was successful, and Lima wasoccupied by the Chilean Army following abrief land campaign that began inPisco.
In 1916,Cajatambo province, which also included what later becameOyón province at the time, was transferred to Lima.
During theInternal conflict in Peru, parts of the territory were occupied by theShining Path. In 1985, Oyón province was created. In 1988, Chancay province was dissolved.
In 2006, a team ofarcheological researchers led by Robert Benfer announced their findings from a four-year excavation atBuena Vista in theChillón River valley a few kilometres north of present-day Lima. They had discovered a 4200-year-old observatory constructed by an early Andean civilization, a three-dimensional sculpture, unique for the time period in this region, and sophisticated carvings. The observatory is on top of a 10-meterpyramidalmound and has architectural features for sighting the astronomicalsolstices. The discovery pushes back the time for the development of complex civilisation in the area and has altered scholars' understanding ofPreceramic period cultures in Peru.[11]
The department is administered by aregional government based inHuacho. Theprovince of Lima is administered by theMetropolitan Municipality of Lima. The former is headed by a regional governor, while the latter is headed by themetropolitan mayor.
Since 2023, the regional governor of Lima isRosa Vásquez Cuadrado [es].
The department is divided into ten provinces, which are composed of 171 districts.
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The department of Lima is bordered by the departments ofAncash on the north,Huánuco,Pasco, andJunín on the east,Huancavelica on the southeast,Ica on the south, and thePacific Ocean and theLima Province on the west.
The department has a coastal and anAndean zone, and has a great diversity of natural regions: the Coast orChala (0 to 500 meters above sea level) up to theJanka orMountain range (Spanish:Cordillera, over 4800 meters). The predominating regions are theYunga (500 to 2300 meters above sea level) andQuechua (2300 to 3500 meters)
The department's climate issubtropical,desert andhumid; a microclimate with temperatures that fluctuate between temperate and warm. The average temperature is 18 °C. The coast has cloudy skies from June to November, with sporadic appearances of the sun in those months, although the areas and places far from the sea in the climatic region calledYungas, above 500 metres above sea level and where Chosica, Cieneguilla, La Molina and Canto Grande are located in San Juan de Lurigancho, they have sunny afternoons and higher average temperatures (especially if we are above 1310 meters above sea level). On the coastal coast, the mass of clouds is due to the cold waters of theHumboldt Current that run through the South Pacific Ocean, which reduces the ambient temperature between 6 and 9 °C, and therefore evaporation from the sea is less. The garúa or drizzle is the typical rain of the region. The humidity level has a permanent average of 80%. The usual average annual temperature is 14°C during winter and 25.5°C during all summers.
The department is the main centre of economic-financial, service and manufacturing activity in the country. In agriculture, itstangüis cotton crops, itssugar crops,fruit trees and take-out bread products stand out. In livestock farming, the raising of cattle, sheep and pigs. In poultry farming, there are countless poultry farms; In artisanal fishing, fish and mollusks are extracted for immediate human consumption. 70% of the country's industries are concentrated in the region, from those that processfish oil andmeal (in Chancay, Supe and Huacho), to others that refineoil (in La Pampilla and Conchán) andzinc (in Cajamarquilla), or that are dedicated to metal-mechanics, textiles, manufacturing and food processing. In terms of energy, there are the Moyopampa, Huampani, Matucana, Huinco, Sheque and Cahua hydroelectric plants. In addition, there is the Santa Rosa thermal power plant. Because it is the first economy in the country, it is the most developed in areas that other departments do not consolidate and it is the most prone to suffer problems from abroad due to the importance of international trade for Peru, it controls the greatest development and at the moment the country can double its size in 2014.
According to theInstituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, most of the country's inhabitants are located in the department's capital which, in 2025, was numbered at 10,432,133 people, or 30.4% of the total population.[12]
The department is served by a railway system operated by theFerrocarril Central Andino consortium that connects Lima withHuancayo andCerro de Pasco. A railway that would connect the city of Lima withIca is also planned.[13]
Metropolitan Lima is serviced by theMetropolitano bus system, as well as ametro system it shares with Callao.
In 2020, Lima was the department where the monthly spending in education was the highest (S/. 108), followed byArequipa (S/ 76.3),Callao (S/ 60.9),Junín (S/ 52.0) andIca (S/ 46.0).[14]
Points of interest in the department includeCaral,Lachay National Reserve andNor Yauyos-Cochas Landscape Reserve.
TheLachay National Reserve, in theHuaura province, is a unique mist-fedeco-system of wild plant and animal species, is a natural reserve located in thenorth of the department.
Huacho is the capital of the Lima Region and the most populous city of the department (excludingLima which is administered by anautonomous government, the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima). Sitting at the bottom of a wide bay, it has a pleasant and dry climate. In its vicinity is theHuaura River where rice, cotton, sugar cane and different fruits and cereals are grown. This has given rise to an important cotton industry as well as soap and oil factories.[15]
Lunahuaná District ofCañete Province, is located 38 km (24 mi) away from the south city ofSan Vicente de Cañete. TheIncahuasi Archeological complex is located there.Lunahuaná has a dry climate and the sun shines during most of the year. Lately, Lunahuaná has become an adventure sports paradise, such as:Canotaje (Whitewater Rafting),Parapente &Ala Delta. Whitewater rafting is possible due to theCañete River, which has rapids up to level 4. The main settlement in this district is the town ofLunahuaná.
Italics indicate provinces under a special regime. TheConstitutional Province of Callao does not belong to any region. |
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