The Huancabamba Depression is an east–west depression through the

Andes Mountains The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

of northern

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The Huancabamba Depression interrupts the Central and Eastern Cordilleras of the Andes, and the

Marañón River The Marañón River (, , ) is the principal or mainstem source of the Amazon River, arising about 160 km (100 miles) to the northeast of Lima, Peru, and flowing northwest across plateaus 3,650 m (12,000 feet) high, it runs through a deeply ero ...

and its tributaries drain eastward through the depression into the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

. The Western Cordillera has its lowest point, , at the

Paso de Porculla Paso or PASO may refer to: People * Fernando del Paso (born 1935), Mexican novelist * Juan José Paso, (1758–1833), Argentine politician Other uses * Paso (float), an elaborate float made for religious processions * Paso (theatre), a seventeen ...

. The Huancabamba Depression is home to the

Marañón dry forests The Marañón dry forests (NT0223) is an ecoregion in northern Peru. It covers the lower valley of the Marañón River and its tributaries along the eastern edge of the Andes. It has a dry climate due to rain shadow from mountains further east. ...

, which form both a

biogeographic Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

connection between the lowland forests of the Pacific coast and the Amazon basin, and a biogeographic barrier between the

Northern Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

and the

Central Andes Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

References

Valleys of Peru {{Peru-geo-stub