Tumbes () is a

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

al department and

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

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 ...

bordering

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Due to the region's location near the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

it has a warm climate, with beaches that are considered among the finest in Peru. Despite its small area, the region contains a wide variety of

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s. It is the smallest department in Peru and its third least populous department after

Moquegua Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Prov ...

and Madre de Dios, but it is also its third most densely populated department, after La Libertad and Lambayeque. The name "Tumbes" originates from either ''Tumpis'', a group of native peoples from the area, the word ''tumbos'', a species of Passiflora that used to abound in the area, or the name of the Tumba

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

, whose son founded and populated the area.

Geography

The Tumbes Region is bordered by the

ian provinces of El Oro and Loja on the east; Peru's Piura Region on the south; and by 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 ...

on the north and west. Morphologically, four zones can be defined in the region: the

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

of the Tumbes and Zarumilla rivers; an alluvial plain north of the Tumbes River, with dry, low-depth ravines; ancient terraces that have been strongly eroded in the Máncora area; and the Amotape mountain range in the east and south, ending at El Barco Mountain. The delta of the Tumbes river is shallow, and when the tide is low, little sandy keys show up, which get covered by

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

vegetation. Despite its small area— it is the second-smallest region in Peru— Tumbes has a great variety of

s: mangroves, Tumbes–Piura dry forests, the only coastal tropical forests in Peru, and a rich and warm sea. Around 50% of the region's territory is covered by three protected natural areas: the Manglares de Tumbes National Sanctuary (which is part of the Gulf of Guayaquil–Tumbes mangroves), the Cerros de Amotape National Park and the Tumbes Reserved Zone.

Demographics

Basically composed of a large

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

population rooted in a mixture between the pre-Incan Tumpis and Tallanes tribes, Spanish, creoles, the African peoples, including mulatos or

zambos Zambo ( or ) or Sambu is a racial term historically used in the Spanish Empire to refer to people of mixed Amerindian, Indigenous Amerindian and West African people, African ancestry. Occasionally in the 21st century, the term is used in the ...

, and a small Chinese community of mostly

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

ancestry.

Population

According to the 1993 Census, the Tumbes Region has a population of 155,521 inhabitants, 53% of which (82,426) are male and 47% (73,095) are female. , the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática estimates the region's population to be 215,634.

Languages

The majority of the region's residents (98.3%) speak Spanish as their native tongue; other languages spoken are Quechua (0.4%), foreign languages (0.1%), Aymara (60 speakers, 0.0%), and other indigenous languages (0.1%).

Immigration

Immigrants from other regions make up 29.4% of the population; 0.2% of residents were born in a foreign country. The largest immigrant groups are from the regions of Piura (16.9% of the total population), Lambayeque (3.7%), and the Lima Province/

Lima Region The Department of Lima (), known as the Department of the Capital () until 1823, is a department and region located in the central coast of Peru; the seat of the regional government is Huacho. Lima Province, which contains the city of Lima, ...

(2.8%).

Age

The population age distribution is 49.4% under the age of 20, 10.7% from 20 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 9.7% from 45 to 64, and 3.5% who are 65 years of age or older.

Education

The

literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

rate in the region is 90.4%.

Secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

has been completed by 31.8% of the population and 4.5% also have graduated from non-university higher education, while 2.3% have complete university studies. 45.9% only have attended

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

and 5.9% have not had any education.

Political division

The region is divided into three

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

(, singular: ''provincia''), which are composed of twelve

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(''distritos'', singular: ''distrito''). The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are: * Contralmirante Villar ( Zorritos) * Tumbes ( Tumbes) * Zarumilla ( Zarumilla)

History

Tumbes was a populated region well before the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

. The first settlers were fishers and

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

s. Most recent cultures that lived there have left evidence of the refinement in their ceramics, and ''huacas'' or ruins that still stand today. Tumbes was integrated into the

during the reign of

Sapa Inca The Sapa Inca (from ; ) was the monarch of the Inca Empire (''Tawantinsuyu'' "the region of the four rovinces), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba, Peru, Vilcabamba. While the origins ...

Pachacuti. He introduced a new way of organizing the empire, but the task of integration continued during Tupac Inca Yupanqui's and

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (; Cuzco Quechua: ''Wayna Qhapaq'' ) (before 14931527) was the third Sapa Inca of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire. He was the son of and successor to Túpac Inca Yupanqui,Sarmiento de Gamboa, Pedro; 2015, originally published in Sp ...

's reigns. He made it a key departure point for his campaign to conquer the Cañaris. The adventure of the Spanish ''Conquistadores'' had its beginning in Tumbes: at Puerto Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

and his men landed in search of gold. The conquerors set off to the rest of the empire, founding cities and overpowering their people.Prescott, W.H., 2011, The History of the Conquest of Peru, Digireads.com Publishing, During colonial times, Tumbes was no more than a crossing point where

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s and adventurers stopped momentarily to restock themselves, and continue traveling. Tumbes, however, gained permanent importance after Peru's independence; with

's long-standing territorial claims over the Loreto Region of Peru, Tumbes's closeness to the border exposed it as a resistance point in some episodes of the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War. As part of the decentralization process in Peru, a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

was held on October 30, 2005, to decide whether the region would merge with the regions of Piura and Lambayeque to create the new Northern Region (). However, voters in the region voted against the merger.

Attractions

Touristic sites

The fact that Tumbes lies so close to the

has determined its landscape, which teems in plant life. The beaches of Tumbes and its warm sea are ideal for

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

and scuba diving. Its pure white sands, sun and warm weather all year long, and a sea ideal for water sports, make the beach of Punta Sal one of the finest on the Peruvian coast. North of the city of Tumbes lies Puerto Pizarro, the gateway to the National Mangroves Sanctuary. The mangroves have formed vast clumps of saltwater-tolerant coastal forests which have created a unique

linking the river and the sea. The mangroves are the breeding grounds for black scallops, which are served up in Tumbes' most famous dish, the black scallop ceviche. South of Tumbes lies Zorritos, the town which received its name from workers involved in drilling the first oilwell in the area, back in 1863. Not far from Zorritos lies the Bocapán beach, where visitors can swim in Hervideros, natural

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s bubbling with

iodized salt Iodised salt ( also spelled iodized salt) is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various iodine salts. The ingestion of iodine prevents iodine deficiency. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading p ...

Typical dishes and beverages

The typical dishes of the ''Tumbesino'' cuisine are based on seafood— ceviche of black scallops,

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

, or

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

s, or ''cebiche mixto''— and Tumbiresas covered by yucca and banana balls broth with ''dominicos'', meat, red peppers, eggs,

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

, coriander and other

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s. Other specialties include the shrimp omelette, ''chupe de cangrejos'', and crabmeat omelette. A typical beverage in the region is the ''chinguirito'', which is obtained by combining ''pipa'' (the milk of a soft

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

) with the famous grape brandy called pisco.

References

External links

*
Portal del Gobierno Regional de Tumbes
– Tumbes Regional Government official portal

The Tumbesian Region, climate and endemism

Endemic Birds of the Tumbesian Region
{{Authority control Tumbes Tumbes