Virtual overview. You can clearly see the mountain ranges from the Andes, with many canyons from rivers floating
towards the Pacific Ocean. Between Cuzco and Lake Titicaca, and further south into Bolivia, you can see the so-called
altiplano, or high plain. On the westside along the Pacific coast, there is a narrow coastal plain consisting mainly of
desert. Cities like Piura, Lima and Ica are in fact desert towns. South of Arequipa begins the Atacama desert, the
driest desert in the world, which extends further south into Chile. The east, and the biggest part from Peru as well, is
Amazon rainforest. See also Physical Geography.

Image made with VistaPro based on USGS digital elevation models. Image © Govert-Jan Mennen