Lima

LIMA, a coast department of central Peru, bounded on the north by Ancachs, east by Hu anuco, Junin and Huancavelica, south by Ica and west by the Pacific ; area 25,o52 sq.m. ; pop ulation (estimate in 1927), 55o, 000. Within the rainless zone, the department includes the western slopes of the Cordillera, the dry, warm valleys of their snow-fed streams, and the coast desert, crossed by these streams, chief of which are the Huaura, Chancay, Rimac, Lurin, Mala and Cafiete. Irrigation by gravity canals makes it possible to raise sugar, cotton, yuca, potatoes, maize, alfalfa, fruits and vegetables. In valleys nearest the capital, 90,00o ac. are under cultivation, mostly in sugar and cotton. Market gardens are insufficient to meet the demand. Live stock for supplying the needs of the capital comes largely from sierra provinces. The Caiiete valley, 7o m. south of Lima, has 50,000 ac. under culti vation, mostly cotton. The first large-scale irrigation project to be completed (1923) is that of the Pampa del Imperial, which has added 17,00o ac. to the cultivable area near Cafiete. Exten sive mineral resources of the department are little developed. The Central railway, begun 1869, Callao-Lima-Oroya-Htian cayo, crosses the department from west to east. Other railways include sections of the coast-line and a few short spurs from ports. There were in 1926 738 m. of automobile roads and 454 m. under active construction. Within the department the coast highway is nearly complete (270 m.). Except for a few sierra towns, cen tres of the live stock industry and the raising of temperate crops, and ports at valley mouths, the chief towns are health and pleas ure resorts of the capital, such as Chosica, 3o m. east of Lima, and Ancon, a bathing resort with fine beach, 25 m. to the north. About 20 m. south of Lima are the famous ruins of Pachacamac, believed to antedate the occupation of this region by the Incas. LIMA (a corruption of Rimac), capital of Peru and of the department of Lima 2' 34" S., 7' W.), on the Rimac, a river in summer, a rivulet in winter, is 84 m. from its seaport,

Callao (q.v.). In the desert coast zone, nearly Soo ft. above sea level, the city is surrounded by an irrigated plain, out of which rise, here and there, rugged hills, among them San Cristobal (1,411 ft.) just north of the city. Estimated population (1926), 200,000. The climate is moderate, the mean annual temperature being 66° F; it seldom drops below or rises above 8o°. Though there is almost no precipitation, the sky is overcast during the winter, when fogs and high relative humidity make it seem colder than it is.

History.

Lima was founded as the City of the Kings by Fran cisco Pizarro on Jan. 18, 1535, on the left bank of the Rimac. He traced the outlines of the chief plaza (Plaza de Armas) and the checkerboard of streets enclosing square areas (manzanas) with open plazas at intervals, a pattern which still survives. On the same day he laid the corner-stone of the cathedral, consecrated in 1625, where his remains may still be seen. Lima became the lux urious capital of the viceroys, the first of whom arrived in The obligatory centre of Spanish trade on the entire continent, it was the focus of Spanish colonization in South America. By a grant from Charles V., the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos was founded in 1551 under Dominican direction and secularized in 1571. The first archbishop was appointed in 1545. In 157o the Inquisition was established. As vast wealth from the mines accumulated, the city was embellished with elaborate balconies and carved stone portals, while churches and monasteries glittered with gold and silver. Stone bridges were built across the Rimac; that of 1610 is still standing. Meanwhile, for protection against attacks of foreign pirates, the Duque de la Palata (viceroy 1681 89), built the city walls which stood until 187o, when they were razed and replaced by the present boulevards. This metropolis of a colonial empire was destroyed by earthquake on Oct. 28, 1746, and little in the present city antedates that catastrophe.