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OLogy Cards > Peru

OLOGY CARD 227
Series: Place

Peru

Thousands of years ago, nomads traveled throughout the area that is now Peru. Eventually, they settled into villages and began to farm and herd animals. Over the next centuries, many advanced cultures grew in the area, including the famous Inca Empire. Today, descendents of the Incas still live and farm in the mountains. Like their ancestors, they rely on animals like llamas for food, clothing, and carrying goods.

Population: 28 million
Size: 501,234 square miles (a little smaller than Alaska)
Capital and largest city: Lima
Geography: tropical jungle, mountains, desert
Government: Democracy
Primary language: Spanish
Natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides

Peru has three very different regions: the desert valleys of the west, the rugged Andes mountains in the center, and the:

frozen tundras of the east

tropical rainforests of the east

evergreen forests of the east

Correct!

West of the Andes Mountains, the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon, begins and stretches through the neighboring country of Brazil.

In 1535, the head of the Spanish forces, Francisco Pizarro, founded the Peruvian city called:

Lima

Cuzco

Machu Picchu

Correct!

The Inca Empire fell in 1533 when it was defeated by Spanish invaders. Pizarro founded Lima, the capital and largest city in Peru. Today Lima is a thriving city filled with colonial mansions, museums, and churches.

Peru celebrates Independence Day on July 4th.

Fact
OR
Fiction
?

Fiction

People in Peru celebrate their own Independence Day on July 28th, marking the day Peru gained its independence from Spain in 1821.

An alpaca is a Peruvian suitcase made by local villagers.

Fact
OR
Fiction
?

Fiction

Alpacas are llamas that live in the Andes mountains. Inca nobles displayed their wealth through the number of alpacas they owned. Alpaca wool is used to make clothing.

Image credits: main image, courtesy of AMNH.

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