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Pachacámac Islands
The Pachacámac Islands (), also known as Cavillaca Islands () or as Whale Islands (), are a group of islands located in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Lurín District, in Lima Province, Peru. Its formed by two main islands (the 23,6 ha Pachacámac Island and the 7,05 ha Peñón Pachacámac) and three islets. They are located about south of the mouth of the Lurín River and about 31 from the city of Lima. The islands have a total area of 31.20 hectares and constitute the habitat of numerous species of seabirds. For this reason, in 2009 the islands were protected by law within the Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve System, a natural reserve that protects and conserves representative samples of the biological diversity of the marine-coastal ecosystems of Peru. Geography The Pachacámac Islands are oriented in a northwest–southeast direction and are under the influence of the cold waters of the Humboldt Current. They are located between 12º 17' and 12º 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), the Pacific Ocean is the largest division of the World Ocean and the hydrosphere and covers approximately 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area ().Pacific Ocean . ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica Concise.'' 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The centers of both the Land and water hemispheres, water hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, as well as the Pole of inaccessi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humboldt Current
The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and processes, fisheries, and sediment studies." ''Progress in Oceanography'' 83.1 (2009): 65-79. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2009.07.041 It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and extends offshore. The Humboldt Current is named after the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt even though it was discovered by José de Acosta 250 years before Humboldt. In 1846, von Humboldt reported measurements of the cold-water current in his book ''Cosmos''. The current extends from southern Chile (~ 45th parallel south) to northern Peru (~ 4th parallel south) where cold, upwelled, waters intersect warm tropical waters to form the Equatorial Front. Sea surface temperatures off the coast of Peru, around 5th parallel south, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Gull
The grey gull, also known as garuma gull (''Leucophaeus modestus'') is a medium-sized gull native to South America. Unusual among gulls, it breeds inland in the extremely dry Atacama Desert in northern Chile, although it is present as a non-breeding bird along much of the Pacific coast of South America. Description The sexes are similar in grey gulls. Adults grow to a length of about and weigh some . The head is white in summer but brownish-grey in winter. The body and wings are grey with the dorsal surface rather darker than the ventral region. The flight feathers are black and the inner primaries and the secondaries have white tips, visible in flight. The tail has a band of black with a white trailing edge. The legs and beak are black and the iris is brown. The call is similar to that of the laughing gull (''Leucophaeus atricilla''). Distribution The grey gull breeds inland in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. Its non-breeding range includes s. Ecuador, Peru through south ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kelp Gull
The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, parts of Australia (where it overlaps with the Pacific gull), and New Zealand (where it is known as the black-backed gull, the southern black-backed gull, mollyhawk – particularly the juveniles, or by its Māori name ''karoro''). ''L. d. vetula'' (known as the Cape gull) is a subspecies occurring around Southern Africa. The specific name comes from the Dominican Order of friars, who wear black and white habits. Description The kelp gull superficially resembles two gulls from further north in the Atlantic Ocean, the lesser black-backed gull and the great black-backed gull, and is intermediate in size between these two species. This species ranges from in total length, from in wingspan and from in weight. Adult males and females ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belcher's Gull
Belcher's gull (''Larus belcheri''), also known as the band-tailed gull, is a bird in the family Laridae found along the Pacific coast of South America. It formerly included the very similar Olrog's gull as a subspecies, but that bird occurs on the Atlantic coast of South America and is now accepted as ''Larus atlanticus''. Belcher's gull is a medium-sized gull with a blackish mantle, white head and underparts, a black band on the otherwise white tail, and a yellow bill with a red and black tip. Non-breeding adults have a brownish-black head and a white eye-ring. The name of this bird commemorates the British explorer Sir Edward Belcher, who performed survey work on the Pacific coast of South America. Description Belcher's gull grows to a length of about . The sexes are similar in appearance, and in the breeding season, the adult has a white head and very pale grey neck and underparts. The mantle and back are greyish-black, and the tail is white with a broad black subterminal ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
