Canchis Province is one of thirteen

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

in the

Cusco Region Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de D ...

in the southern highlands of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Geography

The Willkanuta River or Willkamayu is one of the largest rivers of the province. Siwinaqucha, the biggest lake of the province, is also one of the biggest lakes of Peru. The Willkanuta and La Raya mountain ranges traverse the province. One of the highest peaks of the province is

Ausangate Ausangate or Auzangateescale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Quispicanchi Province 1 (Cusco Region) (in Hispanicized spellings) is a mountain of the Vilcanota mountain range in the Andes of Peru. With an elevation of 6,384 metres, it is situa ...

. Other mountains are listed below:escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Canchis and La Convención Province (Cusco Region)

History

After independence, the province was created as ''Tinta Province''. On October 14, 1833, it was divided into two new provinces: Canchis Province and

Canas Province Canas Province is one of thirteen provinces in the Cusco Region in the southern highlands of Peru. Geography The La Raya mountain range traverses the province. Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below:escale.minedu.gob.pe ...

. On August 29, 1834, the city of Sicuani became the official capital of Canchis Province.

Political division

The province is divided into eight

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

( es, distritos, singular: ''distrito''), each of which is headed by a mayor (''alcalde''). The districts, with their capitals in parentheses, are: * Checacupe ( Checacupe) * Combapata ( Combopata) * Marangani ( Marangani) * Pitumarca ( Pitumarca) * San Pablo ( San Pablo) * San Pedro ( San Pedro) * Sicuani ( Sicuani) * Tinta ( Tinta)

Ethnic groups

The people in the province are mainly

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

citizens of

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

descent.

is the first language of the majority of the population (58.59%), and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

of almost all the rest (41.14%).inei.gob.pe
INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007

Archaeological sites

Raqch'i Raqch'i (Quechua) is an Inca archaeological site in Peru located in the Cusco Region, Canchis Province, San Pedro District, near the populated place Raqch'i. It is 3480 meters above sea level and 110 kilometers from the city of Cuzco.Sillar (20 ...

is an archaeological sites with remains of the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

period. Other sites in the province are Ayamach'ay,

Llamachayuq Qaqa Llamachayuq Qaqa (Quechua ''llama'' llama, ''-cha'', ''-yuq'' suffixes, ''qaqa'' rock,Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iskay simipi yuyayk'ancha, La Paz, 2007 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) "a rock with a little llama"), Wakan Wayq'u or ...

and Machu Pitumarka.

Sources

External links

*
Official website of the Canchis Province
Provinces of the Cusco Region {{Cusco-geo-stub