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Cuzco Department
Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Inca
Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Inca
Flag of Cuzco Department
Flag
Official seal of Cuzco Department
Seal
Location of the Department of Cusco in Peru
Location of the Department of Cusco in Peru
Country Peru
Subdivisions 13 provinces and 108 districts
Largest city Cusco
Capital Cusco
Area
 • Total 71,986 km2 (27,794 sq mi)
Elevation
(Capital)
3,399 m (11,152 ft)
Highest elevation
4,801 m (15,751 ft)
Lowest elevation
532 m (1,745 ft)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total 1,205,527
 • Density 16.74669/km2 (43.3737/sq mi)
UBIGEO
08
Dialing code 0484
ISO 3166 code PE-CUS
Principal resources Gold, maize, barley, quinoa, and tea
Poverty rate 52.3%
Percentage of Peru's GDP 4.4%
Website www.regioncusco.gob.pe/
División Politica del Cusco
Political division of the Cusco Region

Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkusko]; Quechua: Qusqu suyu [ˈqɔsqɔ ˈsʊjʊ]), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de Dios and Puno on the east; Arequipa on the south; and Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín on the west. Its capital is Cusco, the historical capital of the Inca Empire.

Geography

The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Department of Cusco. It is located about 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as potatoes, tarwi (edible lupin), barley and quinoa.

Provinces

Languages

According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (51.40%), followed by Spanish (46.86%). The Quechua variety spoken in this department is Cusco Quechua.

The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Department of Cusco by province:

Province Quechua Aymara Asháninka Another native language Spanish Foreign language Deaf or mute Total
Acomayo 22,262 12 2 4 3,117 - 52 25,449
Anta 36,512 42 3 10 15,248 8 132 51,955
Calca 43,008 101 4 117 18,128 13 142 61,513
Canas 32,790 31 6 11 2,910 - 40 35,788
Canchis 53,695 107 5 7 37,702 2 120 91,638
Chumbivilcas 64,087 102 9 1 6,063 2 104 70,368
Cusco 63,675 781 94 306 282,610 1,521 466 349,453
Espinar 40,594 120 8 1 18,116 6 71 58,916
La Convención 62,145 276 2,802 9,278 81,111 120 318 156,050
Paruro 26,707 53 5 1 2,192 1 42 29,001
Paucartambo 35,996 95 15 207 5,682 9 65 42,069
Quispicanchi 57,587 152 11 12 18,562 20 86 76,430
Urubamba 27,523 104 4 9 25,075 823 68 53,606
Total 566,581 1,976 2,968 9,964 516,516 2,525 1,706 1,102,236
% 51.40 0.18 0.27 0.90 46.86 0.23 0.15 100.00

Toponyms

Many of the toponyms of the Department of Cusco originate from Quechua and also Aymara. These names are overwhelmingly predominant throughout the region. Their Spanish-based orthography, however, is in conflict with the normalised alphabets of these languages. According to Article 20 of Decreto Supremo No 004-2016-MC (Supreme Decree) which approves the Regulations to Law 29735, published in the official newspaper El Peruano on July 22, 2016, adequate spellings of the toponyms in the normalised alphabets of the indigenous languages must progressively be proposed with the aim of standardising the naming used by the National Geographic Institute (Instituto Geográfico Nacional, IGN) The National Geographic Institute realises the necessary changes in the official maps of Peru.

The Ministry of Culture additionally proposes to the municipalities of the provinces to recover ancient indigenous toponyms and that these names should be spread by the local and communal authorities on posters and other signage.

Notable residents

  • Raul Geller (born 1936), Peruvian-Israeli footballer

Gallery

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Departamento del Cuzco para niños

  • Administrative divisions of Peru
  • Machiguenga Communal Reserve
  • Megantoni National Sanctuary
  • Otishi National Park
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