Talara is a city in the Talara Province of the

Piura Region Piura () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru. The region's capital is Piura and its largest port cities, Paita and Talara, are also among the most important in Peru. The area is known for its tropical and dry beaches. It i ...

, in northwestern

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 ...

. It is a port city on the

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 ...

with a population of 91,444 as of 2017. Its climate is hot and dry. Due to its oil reserves, and ability to produce aviation fuel, Talara hosted a United States air base during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was also one of two refueling stations for the Pacific Fleet. There were naval guns on the hills, and submarine nets in the harbor. The Ajax, Achilles and Exeter, three British destroyers, were refuelled there on their way around the Horn to catch the Graf Spee in Rio de la Plata. Talara is also home to a large

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

fleet. The city is served by the

Cap. FAP Víctor Montes Arias Airport A cap is a form of headgear. Cap may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Cap, a character in the comic strip ''Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' * ''The Cap'', a 1984 Canadian short film * "Cap" (song), a song by KSI featuring Offset from the 2020 album ' ...

. Talara is the westernmost city in all of mainland South America. (A small outlying town, Seccion Dieciocho, is situated slightly further west, and just beyond there, the land itself reaches its westernmost extent at

Punta Pariñas Punta Pariñas, also known as Punta Balcones, is in the La Brea District, Talara Province, Piura Region, Peru. It is the westernmost point in mainland South America, located at . An active lighthouse is located in Punta Pariñas. There is a ...

.) Talara and some neighbouring cities (

Piura Piura is a city in northwestern Peru, located north of the Sechura Desert along the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017 and it is the 7th most populous city in Peru. ...

and Amotape) served as the backdrop for the short novel ''

Who Killed Palomino Molero? ''Who Killed Palomino Molero?'' () is a 1986 novel by Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. The book begins with the discovery of the brutally murdered body of a young recruit, Palomino Molero, from a nearby military base in northern Peru. Varg ...

'' by

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

Geography

Climate

References

External links

Municipalidad de TalaraTalara
Populated places in the Department of Piura Port cities in Peru Cities in Peru {{Piura-geo-stub

Geography

Climate

See also

References

External links