All about Lima

Lima (Peru), city in west central Peru, capital and largest city of the country, located on the Pacific Ocean and adjacent to the Rímac River in Peru’s arid coastal region.

Lima is the political, economic, and cultural center of Peru. Its importance within the nation is so overwhelming that some scholars suggest there are two Perus: Lima and the rest of the country.

Lima’s metropolitan area has a population of 6.4 million, accounting for close to one-third of the nation’s total and a similar proportion of the country’s workforce.

The concentration of wealth and power in Lima is even more intense: The city accounts for more than two-thirds of the nation’s gross domestic product, tax collections, bank deposits, private investment, physicians, and university students. Despite recent efforts at decentralization, Lima is still the base for almost all government agencies.

The city’s climate is temperate, despite its location in the tropics.

Temperatures are moderated by the cold Peruvian Current of the Pacific Ocean, which sweeps northward along the coast from the Antarctic.

Rainfall is rare in Lima due to the cold coastal current and the rain-shadow effect created by the Andes mountain range, which blocks warm moisture-laden air from the east.

The coast is often shrouded in a heavy fog, known as garúa, which is especially intense during the cooler winter months from April through October.

From November through March, the city’s climate is characterized by warm, sunny days and cool evenings. The city is located in a seismic zone. Major earthquakes occurred in 1687, 1746, and 1970.


(1) CITY AND METROPOLETAN AREA
(2) POPULATION
(3) EDUCATION AND CULTURE
(4) ECONOMY
(5) GOVERNMENT
(6) CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
(7) HISTORY