Chanchamayo (in hispanicized spelling) or Chanchamayu (

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 ...

''chanchay'' to walk and leap about, to walk quickly and confused, ''chancha chancha'' to walk quickly and irregularly, ''shancha'' a kind of bird, ''mayu'' river)Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 (Quechua-Spanish dictionary) is a province in northern

Junín Region Junín may refer to: Places Argentina *Junín Partido **Junín, Buenos Aires *** Junín Airport * Junín Department, Mendoza ** Junín, Mendoza * Junín Department, San Luis *Junín de los Andes, Neuquén Colombia *Junín, Cundinamarca *Juní ...

, in central

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 ...

. The name of the province derives from the river Chanchamayu, whose source is in the

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...

Sierra and flows northwards becoming the

Perené River The Perené River () is a Peruvian river on the eastern slopes of the South American Andes. It is formed at the confluence of the Chanchamayo and Paucartambo Rivers, above the community of Perené, actually two pueblos of Santa Ana and Pampa ...

. The province has an estimated population of 151,489 ( 2017), half of whom live in the provincial capital, La Merced. Another important town in the province is San Ramón. Both towns are on the west side of the province, surrounded by mountains and close to tourist attractions like jungle forests, waterfalls and thermal springs. Downstream the Perené river, towards the east side of the province, the land becomes flatter and more suited for agriculture. The town Bajo Pichanaqui has grown a lot in recent years as a local center of agricultural markets. The Chanchamayo province is famous for citrus production and quality coffee growing.

History

The first inhabitants of this territory were the Yanesha' people and Ashaninkas. The first reported

Europea Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

n presence in the area dates back to 1635, when

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Fray Juan Jerónimo Jiménez founded the settlement of San Buena Ventura de Quimiri which was three kilometres (2 mi) away from present-day Chanchamayo.

Political division

The province is divided into six

district 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 ...

s ( es, distritos, singular: ''distrito''), each of which is headed by a mayor (''alcalde''). The districts, with their capitals in parenthesis, are: # Chanchamayo ( Chanchamayo) # San Luis de Shuaro ( San Luis de Shuaro) # Perené ( Perené) # Pichanaqui ( Bajo Pichanaqui) # San Ramón ( San Ramón) # Vitoc ( Pucará)

References

Provinces of the Junín Region {{Junin-geo-stub

History

Political division

See also

References