Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a department and region in

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 ...

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 Dios and Puno on the east; Arequipa on the south; and Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín on the west. Its capital is

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru ...

, the historical capital of the

Inca Empire 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 adm ...

Geography

The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Department of Cusco. It is located about above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Un ...

es, tarwi (edible

lupin ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley ...

and quinoa.

Provinces

* Acomayo ( Acomayo) * Anta (Anta) *

Calca Calca may refer to: *Calca Peninsula, a peninsula in South Australia * Calca Province, one of thirteen provinces in the Cusco Region of Peru * Calca District, one of the eight districts in the Calca Province * Calca, Peru, capital of the Calca Distr ...

(

) *

Canas Canas or Cañas may refer to: Places * Canas (Lycia), a town of ancient Lycia, now in Turkey * Amatlán de Cañas, a municipality in Nayarit, Mexico * Cañas Canton, in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica * Cañas, Costa Rica, capital of the Cañas ca ...

(Yanaoca) * Canchis (Sicuani) * Chumbivilcas (Santo Tomás) *

(

) * Espinar (Yauri) *

La Convención LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

( Quillabamba) * Paruro ( Paruro) * Paucartambo ( Paucartambo) * Quispicanchi ( Urcos) * Urubamba ( Urubamba)

Languages

According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (51.40%), followed by Spanish (46.86%). The Quechua variety spoken in this department is Cusco Quechua. The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Department of Cusco by province:inei.gob.pe
INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007

Toponyms

Many of the

toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name o ...

s of the Department of Cusco originate from Quechua and also Aymara. These names are overwhelmingly predominant throughout the region. Their Spanish-based orthography, however, is in conflict with the normalised alphabets of these languages. According to Article 20 of ''Decreto Supremo No 004-2016-MC'' (Supreme Decree) which approves the Regulations to Law 29735, published in the official newspaper El Peruano on July 22, 2016, adequate spellings of the toponyms in the normalised alphabets of the indigenous languages must progressively be proposed with the aim of standardising the naming used by the National Geographic Institute ''(Instituto Geográfico Nacional, IGN)'' The National Geographic Institute realises the necessary changes in the official maps of Peru. The Ministry of Culture additionally proposes to the municipalities of the provinces to recover ancient indigenous toponyms and that these names should be spread by the local and communal authorities on posters and other signage.

Notable residents

* Raul Geller (born 1936), Peruvian-Israeli footballer

Gallery

File:Cuzco Décembre 2007 - Balcons.jpg, Balconies and arcades at the

main square Main Square may refer to: * Main Square, Plzeň * Main Square (Bratislava) * Main Square, Kraków * Main Square, Maribor * Main Square Festival, named after the Grand-Place in Arras, France * Main Square (Toronto), a building complex See also * ...

in Cusco

Sources

External links

Travelogue Cusco Region (Sacred Valley of the Incas)

{{Cusco-geo-stub