Ancash Region

Ancash (Spanish Región Ancash, Ancash Quechua Ankash Shuyu or Anqash Shuyu ) is a Peruvian region in the Andes. Live in an area of ​​35914.41 km ² 1,039,415 (2005) people. The capital is Huaraz. Chimbote is the most populous city in the region.

Name

The name comes from the Ancash Quechua and is derived either from anka ( eagle) or anqas (blue ) from.

Geography

Ancash is located north of Lima Provincias region on the Pacific coast and is bounded on the east by the River Marañón. The land is mostly dominated by the Andes. The part Mountains Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Negra offer a dozen mountains over 5,000 meters, including the Huascaran, with 6768 meters the highest mountain in Peru. The Alpamayo ( 5,947 m) was awarded in Munich in 1996 as the most beautiful mountain in the world.

In the Ancash region, there are well-known pre-Columbian ruins such as Chavín de Huántar and Willkawain.

History

1970 a strong earthquake shook the entire country. The town of Yungay was completely destroyed by a mudslide, 20,000 people lost their lives.

Population

The population of the Ancash Region rose from 1,024,581 ( 1996) to 1,154,523 (2005) and is distributed according to official government estimates as follows on the age structure of the population:

In Ancash the Inca language Quechua (variant Ancashino ) is mostly spoken, alone with twenty different dialects in this region.

Political Structure

Ancash is divided into 20 provinces and 165 districts.