Montaña

Montaña, the region east of the Andes in Peru encompassing almost two-thirds of the country's territory and only one-tenth of its population. According to the studies of geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal, it is classified as one of the three official natural regions of Peru, together with the Coast and the Sierra. The easternmost Andean slopes, known as the upper Montaña, steep and thickly forested, pose formidable obstacles to land and river transportation. The lower Montaña, a lowland tropical forest, is traversed by navigable rivers such as the Amazon, Marañón, Ucayali, and Huallaga. Different ethnic groups account for a dwindling population of approximately 150,000 Amazonians still living on the wide variety of animals, vegetation, and fish in the region. The major export products of the Montaña include coca leaves, oil, and rubber.

See alsoAndes .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Javier Pulgar Vidal, Geografía del Perú: Las ocho regiones naturales del Perú (1972).

Additional Bibliography

Arana Freire, Elsa, and Roberto Frantozzi. Perú secreto. Lima: BienVenido Editores, 2000.

Raimondi, Antonio, and Luis Felipe Villacorta O. La sierra y selva central: Morococha, Cerro de Pasco, y Chanchamayo. Lima: Universidad Mayor de San Marcos, 2006.

Zapata, Florencia. Memorias de la comunidad de Vicos: Así nos recordamos con alegría. Huaraz, Peru: Corporación Gráfica Andina, 2005.

                                         Alfonso W. Quiroz