Sechura Desert
Coastal desert in Peru, subject to flooding and tsunamis.
The Sechura Desert is a coastal desert located south of the Piura Region of Peru along the Pacific coast and inland to the foothills of the Andes Mountains. Its extreme aridity is caused by the upwelling of cold coastal waters and subtropical atmospheric subsidence, but it is also subject to occasional flooding during El Niño years. The desert is notable for containing the Bayóvar Depression, the lowest point in Peru and all of the Southern Tropics.
- area
- 5,000 km² (1,931 sq mi)
- location
- Southern Piura and western Lambayeque regions, Peru
- lowest_point
- Bayóvar Depression
- climate
- Extremely arid, with low temperature variation due to Pacific Ocean
- notable_event
- Temporary lake formed in 1998, 145 km long
Lore & Background
The Sechura Desert has been shaped by both aridity and sudden water events. In 1728, a tsunami generated from an earthquake swept inland, destroying the town of Sechura, which was then located closer to the water. Survivors moved inland and re-established the town in its present location. During El Niño years, flooding regularly occurs; in 1998, runoff from flooding rivers formed a temporary lake 145 km long, 32 km wide, and 3.0 m deep, filling the Bayóvar Depression.
Reader's Guide
The Sechura Desert is significant as one of the most arid deserts on Earth, yet it supports intensive irrigated agriculture on fertile bottomlands fed by short rivers from the Andes. These rivers sustained prehistoric indigenous settlements for millennia, including the Moche and Sican cultures. The Sican developed refined lost wax goldsmithing. Today, two of Peru's five largest cities, Piura and Chiclayo, lie within the agricultural region in the north. The desert's extreme aridity results from cold coastal water upwelling and subtropical atmospheric subsidence, but its history of tsunamis and El Niño flooding demonstrates its vulnerability to sudden, dramatic water events.
Did You Know?
- The Bayóvar Depression is the lowest point in Peru and all of the Southern Tropics.
- In 1728, a tsunami destroyed the town of Sechura, which was then rebuilt inland at its present location.
- In 1998, runoff from flooding rivers created a temporary lake 145 km long, 32 km wide, and 3.0 m deep in the desert.
- The Sican culture (circa 800–1300 CE) developed refined techniques of lost wax goldsmithing in this region.
- Two of Peru's five largest cities, Piura and Chiclayo, lie within the agricultural region in the north of the desert.
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