Pisco | |
---|---|
City | |
Coordinates: 13°43′S76°12′W / 13.717°S 76.200°W | |
Country | Peru |
Region | Ica |
Province | Pisco |
District | Pisco |
Government | |
• Mayor | Juan Mendoza Uribe (2019-2022) |
Area | |
• Total | 3,978.19 km2 (1,535.99 sq mi) |
Elevation | 9 m (30 ft) |
Population | |
104,656 | |
Demonym | Pisquena(o) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (PET) |
Website | Official Website |
Pisco (Quechua : Pisqu) is a city located in the Department of Ica of Peru, the capital of the Pisco Province. The city is around 9 metres (28 feet) above sea level. Pisco was founded in 1640, [2] close to the indigenous emplacement of the same name. Pisco originally prospered because of its nearby vineyards and became noted for its grape brandy or pisco [3] which was exported from its port. Pisco has an estimated population of 104,656 (est. 2015). [4]
The town of Santa Maria Magdalena, which was founded in 1572, had a port named Pisco, after the name of the valley in which it was located. This port became an important route for distribution of the liqueur throughout Peru. Demand for the product grew as sailors from around the world who called into the Port of Pisco created an important international trade link and further demand for the product. Over time, the town of Santa Maria Magdalena became simply known as 'Pisco' with the same name adopted for the grape liqueur produced from the area. In a few decades, Pisco was distributed along the entire coast of Peru and Chile, as well as being exported through ports in the Pacific and Europe.
The city was highly populated until 1685, when it was pillaged by English pirates. The city suffered again in 1687 because of an earthquake. Vines are abundant, despite the sandy and infertile terrain; they grow in many places because of the moisture from inside the earth and provide Lima with its wines and grape concentrates that run along the various mountain provinces extending to Panama and Guayaquil. [5]
Pisco was attacked by the pirates Clerck and David; in addition, in 1687 it was destroyed by an earthquake, which caused a tsunami to follow, destroying the city further. Viceroy Melchor Antonio Portocarrero Lazo de la Vega then moved it to its current location, reestablishing it in 1689 as "Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Concordia de Pisco".
In 1820, the Liberating Expedition [6] [7] arrived in Pisco under the command of José de San Martín [8] and Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, disembarking in the Bay of Paracas, where the first flag and the first national emblem of Peru were created. In 1832, the Peruvian Congress ordered by law that the city of Lima would receive the title of "Villa y Puerto de la Independencia", extending this qualification to both the town and the riverbank population. In 1868 the "town of Pisco" was designated capital of the new province of Chincha, and in 1898 it was elevated to the rank of "city". In 1947, the historian pisqueño Mamerto Castillo Negrón said that Pisco had received two additions in its history that granted it honors worthy of merit, the first being "Villa and Puerto de la Independencia" and second, its recognition as a provincial capital.
The city was very near the center of the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake which struck south central Peru on Wednesday 15 August 2007. Media officials reported that 80% of the city was destroyed, including the central San Clemente Cathedral of Pisco, located in Plaza de Armas in which mass was taking place at the time of the earthquake. [9] The resulting dead account for a reported 30 percent of the total fatalities caused by the earthquake. [10] Several hundred more were killed throughout the city [11] Several years on, the city is still recovering from the damage done during the earthquake. [12]
The city of Pisco experiences hot arid climate, with warm temperatures and extremely low rainfall prevailing all year-round. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Pisco has a desert climate, abbreviated BWh on climate maps. [13] The average maximum temperature in the city is 23.7 °C (74.7 °F), ranging from a February peak of 27.7 °C (81.9 °F) to a July low of 20.2 °C (68.4 °F). The average minimum temperature in the city is 15.8 °C (60.4 °F), fluctuating from 19.5 °C (67.1 °F) to 12.9 °C (55.2 °F) in the months of February and August respectively. Rainfall is extremely low; the average annual rainfall total amounts to a mere 1.5 mm (0.1 in).
Climate data for Pisco (1991–2020, extremes 1942–present) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 33.9 (93.0) | 33.2 (91.8) | 33.5 (92.3) | 32.0 (89.6) | 30.2 (86.4) | 31.0 (87.8) | 28.0 (82.4) | 28.4 (83.1) | 29.2 (84.6) | 27.0 (80.6) | 28.3 (82.9) | 31.2 (88.2) | 33.9 (93.0) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 28.0 (82.4) | 29.3 (84.7) | 28.8 (83.8) | 26.8 (80.2) | 24.0 (75.2) | 22.1 (71.8) | 21.2 (70.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 21.7 (71.1) | 22.6 (72.7) | 23.9 (75.0) | 25.9 (78.6) | 24.6 (76.3) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 23.6 (74.5) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 22.2 (72.0) | 19.7 (67.5) | 18.1 (64.6) | 17.4 (63.3) | 17.1 (62.8) | 17.6 (63.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 19.5 (67.1) | 21.6 (70.9) | 20.3 (68.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.3 (66.7) | 20.0 (68.0) | 19.6 (67.3) | 17.6 (63.7) | 15.4 (59.7) | 14.3 (57.7) | 13.7 (56.7) | 13.3 (55.9) | 13.7 (56.7) | 14.4 (57.9) | 15.2 (59.4) | 17.4 (63.3) | 16.1 (61.0) |
Record low °C (°F) | 10.5 (50.9) | 14.3 (57.7) | 12.0 (53.6) | 10.0 (50.0) | 7.0 (44.6) | 7.8 (46.0) | 7.0 (44.6) | 7.2 (45.0) | 8.0 (46.4) | 7.0 (44.6) | 9.5 (49.1) | 9.2 (48.6) | 7.0 (44.6) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.3 (0.01) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.1 (0.00) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.5 (0.06) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 83 | 81 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 82 | 82 |
Source 1: Meteo Climat [14] [15] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: NOAA (rainfall 1961-1990), [16] Deutscher Wetterdienst (precipitation days 1970–1990 and humidity 1954–1969) [17] |
Pisco is served by the Capitán FAP Renán Elías Olivera Airport (IATA: PIO, ICAO: SPSO), located in Pisco (PIO). [18] This international airport shares facilities with the Peruvian Air Force and is also designated as a back-up airport to the Jorge Chávez International Airport (IATA: LIM, ICAO: SPIM) in Lima, Peru. On September 4, 2012, President Ollanta Humala was present for the beginning of renovations to the airport, [19] which is expected to be operational by 2015 with the ability to receive an anticipated 400,000 passengers a year in 2017.
Pisco is a Quechua word meaning "bird". [3] The area is often visited because of the concentration of marine animals and birds at the Paracas National Reserve, or the Peruvian Galápagos. [20] At the reserve there are the Islas Ballestas, a collection of islands which are off limits to people, but boat tours can get close to. The Chincha Islands are also near its coast. Many bird species can be seen in the islands including pelicans, penguins, cormorants, Peruvian boobies, and Inca terns, as well as sea lions, turtles, dolphins, and whales.
Another attraction in the area is El Candelabro, a giant lamp dug in the rough sand in the method used by the creators of the Nazca Lines.
One of the major ancient civilizations in Peru, the Paracas culture, flourished in the area where Pisco sits. Due to its ease of access and its crossroads to the Andes, the Spaniards may have considered making Pisco the capital, before they decided on Lima.
In the city is the Plaza de Armas, where people buy tejas, small sweets made from pecans and assorted dried fruits. Many different building that surround the Plaza are the statue of José de San Martín, the mansion he lived in, and the Municipal Palace. Other building in the city is the heavily baroque Iglesia de la Compañía, begun in 1689, features a superb carved pulpit and gold-leaf altarpiece.
Near the town, just off the road to Ayacucho, lies the large, well-preserved Inca site of Tambo Colorado.
Pisco is twinned with:
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber-colored spirit produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain. It had the advantages of being produced from abundant domestically grown fruit and reducing the volume of alcoholic beverages transported to remote locations.
Chimbote ; Quechua: Chimputi) is the largest city in the Ancash Region and the 10th largest city in Peru. With a population of 425,367, it is the capital of both Santa Province and Chimbote District.
Nazca is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. The city of Nazca is the largest in the Nazca Province. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in the area between 100 BC and AD 800. This culture was responsible for the Nazca Lines and the ceremonial city of Cahuachi. They also constructed additional underground aqueducts, named puquios, in a regional system that still functions today. The first puquios are believed to have been built by the preceding Paracas culture.
Piura is a city in northwestern Peru located north of the Sechura Desert on the Piura River. It is the capital of the Piura Region and the Piura Province. Its population was 484,475 as of 2017 and is the 7th most populous city in Peru. The city is located in the central eastern part of the Piura Region, 981 kilometers from the country's capital, Lima and is near to the border with Ecuador.
Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only 35 km (22 mi) north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland from the Pacific Ocean and in the valley of the Caplina River. It is Peru's tenth most populous city.
Ica is a department and region of Peru. It borders the Pacific Ocean on the west; the Lima Region on the north; the Huancavelica and Ayacucho regions on the east; and the Arequipa Region on the south. Its capital is the city of Ica.
Moquegua is a department and region in southern Peru that extends from the coast to the highlands. Its capital is the city of Moquegua, which is among the main Peruvian cities for its high rates of GDP and national education.
Ica is a city and the capital of the Department of Ica in southern Peru. While the area was long inhabited by varying cultures of indigenous peoples, the Spanish conquistador Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera claimed its founding in 1563.
San Vicente de Cañete, commonly known as San Vicente or Cañete, is a city and capital of the Cañete Province, in southern Lima Region. With a population of 85,533.
Tumbes is a city in northwestern Peru, on the banks of the Tumbes River. It is the capital of the Tumbes Region, as well as of Tumbes Province and Tumbes District. Located near the border with Ecuador, Tumbes has 111,595 inhabitants as of 2015. It is served by the Cap. FAP Pedro Canga Rodriguez Airport. It is located on the Gulf of Guayaquil along with Zorritos.
The Chincha Islands are a group of three small islands 21 kilometres (13 mi) off the southwest coast of Peru, to which they belong, near the town of Pisco. Since pre-Incan times they were of interest for their extensive guano deposits, but the supplies were mostly exhausted by 1874.
Talara is a city in the Talara Province of the Piura Region, in northwestern Peru. It is a port city on the Pacific Ocean 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. 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 fleet. The city is served by the Cap. FAP Víctor Montes Arias Airport.
Tarapoto is a commercial hub town in the San Martín Province of the Department of San Martín of northern Peru. It is an hour by plane from Lima, in the high jungle plateau to the east of what is known as the selva baja. Although Moyobamba is the capital of the region, Tarapoto is the region's largest city and is linked to the Upper Amazon and the historic city of Yurimaguas by a relatively well-maintained transandean highway, paved in 2008–9.
Pisco is a province of the Ica Region in Peru. Its capital is the town of Pisco, where the popular liquor of the same name originated.
Cruzeiro do Sul is a municipality located on the Juruá river in the west of the Brazilian state of Acre. It is the second-largest city in Acre.
Paracas National Reserve is a protected area in the region of Ica, Peru and protects desert and marine ecosystems for their conservation and sustainable use. There are also archaeological remains of the Paracas culture inside the reserve.
Chincha Alta is a Peruvian city located in the Ica Region. A major port at the mouth of the Chincha River, it is the capital of Chincha Province. The city has a population of about 233,000, making it the 17th largest city in Peru.
The 2007 Peru earthquake, which measured 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale, hit the central coast of Peru on August 15 at 23:40:57 UTC and lasted two minutes. The epicenter was located 150 km (93 mi) south-southeast of Lima at a depth of 39 km (24 mi). At least 595 people died and over 2,290 people were injured.
Peruvian wine dates back to the Spanish colonization of the region in the 16th century.
The Ballestas Islands are a group of small islands near the town of Paracas within the Paracas District of the Pisco Province in the Ica Region, on the south coast of Peru.