Lima is located in the coastal desert of Peru, in the foothills of the western slope of the central Andes of Peru. Although the settlement of Spaniards was located on the valley of the Rímac river, in the domains of taulli Chugo, today it extends over extensive desert areas and even over other valleys. While the main square is located at an altitude of 161 meters above sea level, the district of Lurigancho reaches 950 meters above sea level.
It borders the coastline from Km 50 of the Panamericana north, at the height of the District of Ancón on the border with the Province of Huaral, to the District of Pucusana at the height of km 70 of the Panamericana south, on the border of the Province of Cañete. What makes an extension of little more than 130 km of Coast and Beaches. Towards the east it extends to approximately kilometer 50 of the Central Highway in the Chosica District, bordering the Province of Huarochirí.
Place names
The current valley of the Rímac river received the name of Límaq – according to the lambdacist pronunciation of coastal Quechua – or Rímaq – according to the pronunciation in the variants of the Quechua of the mountains – as a reference to the oracle (limaq) that today is known as Huaca de Santa Ana (“guaca of the Lima Indians who called themselves ychmas, was a round stone”). As in other place names, the final stop was finally eliminated when passing to the Spanish language, preferring over time the spelling “Lima” after coexisting in documents with the forms “Limac” and “Lyma”.
Today, Peruvians who speak the Quechua language know this city as Límaq, as they say “Limaqta aywashqa” (‘he has gone to Lima’). [1]
When the capital of the colony was founded on January 18, it was given the name of City of the Kings due to the proximity of the date with January 6, the day of the Magi (Epiphany) and perhaps also as a tribute to the Kings of Spain. However, the toponymic name of the region was always maintained, which little by little was consolidated on the founding name, by which the new populated center ended up being known as the city of Lima. The name of the river, on the other hand, had its spelling altered according to the uses of the Third Council of Lima, influenced by Aymara pronunciation habits, as with many other place names of Quechua origin.
Climate
According to topb2bwebsites, Lima’s climate is especially particular given its situation. It combines a practical absence of rainfall, with a very high level of atmospheric humidity and persistent cloud cover. Thus, it is surprising for its strange characteristics despite being located in a Tropical area at 12 degrees south latitude and almost at sea level. The central Peruvian coast shows a series of atypical microclimates due to the influential and cold Humboldt Current that derives from Antarctica, the proximity of the mountain range and the tropical location, giving Lima a Subtropical, desert and Humid climate at the same time.
It can be said that Lima has a warm climate without excessive tropical heat or extreme cold that requires heating at home, except for very few winters. The average annual temperature is 18.5 to 19 ° C, with an annual summer maximum of about 29 ° C. Summers, from December to April, have temperatures that oscillate between 28 and 21 ° C. Only when a Phenomenon of El Niño occurs, the temperature in summer can exceed 31 ° C. Winters go from June to mid-September with temperatures ranging between 19 and 12 ° C, with 5 ° C being the lowest temperature recorded historically. The spring and autumn months (September, October and May) have mild temperatures that range between 23 and 17 ° C.
On the other hand, the relative humidity is extremely high (up to 100%), producing persistent haze from June to December until the beginning of summer when the clouds are lower. It is sunny, humid and hot in the summers (December-April), cloudy and mild in the winters (June to September). Rain is almost nil. The annual average is 7 mm reported at the airport, being the smallest amount in a metropolitan area in the world. Lima has only 1,284 hours of sunshine per year, 28.6 hours in July and 179.1 hours in January, exceptionally low values for latitude.
The combination of climatic phenomena are presented as follows: The cold Humboldt Current that runs along the coast sensibly cools the temperature of the water. This is much colder than what would correspond to the tropical latitude in which Lima is located. Thus, cold conditions at sea level with a warmer upper atmosphere due to solar action generates a thermal inversion that prevents the phenomenon of convection, by which warmer and less dense air rises. This, together with the surrounding Andean mountain range, causes an almost permanent layer of extremely low thick cloudiness to appear (less than 500 m from the ground) that prevents the passage of direct solar radiation. In turn, the blockage by a layer of hot air above, prevents the formation of vertically developing Cumulonimbus clouds, which explains the absence of precipitation. This is the reason for the paradox of having an extremely cloudy and humid climate and yet desert. The scarce rainfall (less than 8 mm per year) known as garúa is the product of the condensation of the low cloudiness that forms the system.
Relief
In terms of morphology, desert pampas predominate in the coastal area, framed by hills, in many cases interrupted by oases formed by rivers that carry water all year round. They are the coastal valleys, where cities are settled and agriculture thrives. The most important features are isolated hills or forming systems, dry streams, river and marine terraces, and undulating reliefs, as well as coastal cliffs.
