1. PERU Kathleen Watanabe

3. Short Name: Peru.

4. Capital: Lima.

5. Date of Independence: Declared July 28, 1821, from Spain; achieved, 1824.

6. Peru covers 496,225 square miles (1,285,216 km2). It borders Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

8. The costa (coast) region is a narrow dry plains, except for valleys created by seasonal rivers.

9. The sierra (highlands) is made up of the Andes. The highest mountain is Huascarán at 6,768 m (22,205 ft).

10. The selva (jungle) is a wide area of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest. Almost 60% of Peru is located within this region.

12. It is multiethnic country of Amerindians, mestizos (of mixed ethnic descent), and people of African, European and Asian descent.

13. The primary language spoken is Spanish (83.9%). Several native languages are spoken of which 13.2% speak .

14. 76% of the population live in urban areas and 24% in rural areas.

16. Primary and secondary education is compulsory.

17. Peru is a democratic republic.

18. The President is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term and can only seek re-election after standing down one full term.

19. The President appoints a Prime Minister and a Council of Ministers.

21. Peruvian art includes pottery, textiles, jewelry and sculpture are rooted in Pre-Inca societies.

22. The Incas created the architectural marvel of Machu Picchu.

23. Peruvian literature is varied. It includes the oral traditions of pre-Columbian societies as well as varying genres introduced during the colonial period.

25. The Mochica civilization existed around the first millennium C.E. The built and elaborate irrigation system that transformed the coastal desert into productive agricultural lands.

26. In 1987 near Sipan, archaeologists discovered large numbers of elaborate artifacts of gold, silver and ceramics.

28. The Inca civilization encompassed one-third of South America with a population of 9 to 16 million inhabitants.

29. The Spaniards under Francisco Pizarro arrived in 1532 and conquered the Incans.

30. The Spaniards also brought diseases that decimated the Inca population from 9 to 16 million inhabitants to 2.7 million by 1570.

32. Native Peruvian music is played on the charango an instrument in the lute family similar to a mandolin.

35. REFERENCES Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Peru. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru The Library of Congress. Country studies. Retrieved from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html