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Huacho Area, Peru May 1997. This particular section of the Peruvian coast
northwest of Lima is located in a desert climate. Here it is so arid that
only the intermittently flowing rivers provide adequate moisture to support
irrigated agriculture in the river valleys and floodplains (note the darker
linear features aligned east-west in the image). Many of the deeply incised,
short flowing rivers drop dramatically in elevation from 15000 feet (4572
meters) elevation in the Andes Mountains to sea level in less than 50 miles
(80 kilometers). The small, brighter features that are visible on the peninsula
that juts westward into the Pacific Ocean are the salt pans of mining operations.
The tiny town of Huacho is located at the coast near the Rio de Huaura,
just north of the large peninsula where the agricultural field pattern is
most extensive.
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