Cajamarca (; qu, Kashamarka; ay, Qajamarka) 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 = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The capital is the city of

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...

. It is located in the north part of the country and shares a border with

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

. The city has an elevation of above sea level in the

Andes Mountain Range 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 ...

, the longest mountain range in the world. Part of its territory includes the Amazon Rainforest, the largest in the world.

History

The oldest known irrigation canals in the Americas are located in the Nanchoc District of Cajamarca Department. The canals in the

Zaña Valley Zaña (also Saña) is the capital of Zaña District in the Chiclayo Province of Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located inland from the Pacific Ocean at an elevation of in the valley of the Zaña River. Zaña had a population of 4,51 ...

have been

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and c ...

dated to 3400 BCE, and possibly date to 4700 BCE. From the 6th to the 10th century the people of the

Wari culture The Wari ( es, Huari) were a Middle Horizon civilization that flourished in the south-central Andes and coastal area of modern-day Peru, from about 500 to 1000 AD. Wari, as the former capital city was called, is located north-east of the mo ...

ruled earlier cultures in the highlands. They established the administrative center of

Wiraquchapampa Viracochapampa, Huiracochapampa, or Wiracochapampa (possibly from Quechua ''wiraqucha'': mister, sir, gentleman, god; or '' Wiracocha'': one of the greatest Andean divinities; and ''pampa'': plain)Teofilo Laime Ajacopa, Diccionario Bilingüe Iska ...

. In the 15th century, the

Incas 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 ...

conquered the territory, expanding their empire. They established their regional capital in what is now Cajamarca. The Incas in 1465 established a new

province 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 ou ...

there to serve as a bridge to their later conquests. Cajamarca had long been one of the oldest cities in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

when the

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, Can ...

arrived in their

conquest of Peru The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish sol ...

Political division

The Region is divided into 13

s. Province (Capital) # Cajabamba ( Cajabamba) #

(

) #

Celendín Celendín is an Andean town in northern Peru, capital of the province of Celendín, in the department of Cajamarca. It is on the road between the city of Cajamarca and the city of Chachapoyas. History The history of the city of Celendín begins ...

(

) # Chota ( Chota) # Contumazá ( Contumazá) # Cutervo ( Cutervo) # Hualgayoc ( Bambamarca) # Jaén ( Jaén) # San Ignacio ( San Ignacio) #

San Marcos San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to: Towns and cities Argentina * San Marcos, Salta Colombia * San Marcos, Antioquia * San Marcos, Sucre Costa Rica * San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú) ...

(

) # San Miguel ( San Miguel de Pallaques) # San Pablo ( San Pablo) # Santa Cruz ( Santa Cruz de Succhubamba)

Places of interest

* Chancaybaños Reserved Zone

Notable people

* Maxima Acuña, winner of the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize *

Yma Sumac Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo (September 13, 1922 (birth certificate) or September 10, 1922 (later documents) – November 1, 2008), known professionally as Yma Sumac (), was a Peruvian-American coloratura soprano. She was one ...

, notable exotica singer of the 1950s *

Pedro Castillo José Pedro Castillo Terrones (; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the President of Peru from 28 July 2021 to 7 December 2022. On 7 December 2022, he was impeached a ...

, President of Peru (2021–2022)

References

Departments of Peru {{Cajamarca-geo-stub