Life zones of Peru

Altitudinal variation in the Andes.

• Sea level
  • Estimated 22 - 24°C (75°F), but the cold Humboldt Current generates fog on the coast side
• Tierra caliente (Hot land, tropical) up to 2,500 ft (about 750 m - 1,000 m).
  • Crops: Cacao, Banana, Sugarcane, Manioc, Sweet Potatoes, Yams.
• Tierra templada (Temperate land, subtropical) up to 6,000 ft (about 1,850 m – 2,000 m)
  • The warmest month has an average temperature of below 22°C or 72°F.
  • Crops: Coffee, Tobacco, Maize, Coca, Peruvian Pepper (Schinus molle), Avocado, Guave (Psidium guajava), Cherimoya, Plum, Citrus fruits.
• Tierra fría (Cool land, temperate) below 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m, treeline)
  • The warmest month has an average temperature of below 18°C or 64°F.
  • Crops: Potato, Maize, Squash, Passionfruit, Papaya, Peach, Wheat, Rye, and Barley. Farming of cattle.
• Tierra helada (Cold land) above 12,000 ft (about 3,600 m)
  • The definition of treeline of Coniferae: the warmest month has an average temperature of below 10°C or 50°F ).
  • Crops above tree line: Quinoa, Cañigua, Mashua, Oca, Tarhui, Broad beans and Ulluco. Farming of Sheep, Llamas and Alpacas.
  • Terrestrial Biome Type 10: Montane grasslands and shrublands
• Tierra Nevada (Janca), above the snow line, 15,000 ft (about 4,500 m - 5,000 m)
  • Just warmer than -1°C over rocks or just warmer than -3°C over snow, annual mean temperature).[3][4][5][6][7]

The Peruvian geographer Javier Pulgar Vidal divided Peru in 8 regions (traditionally, it was costa, sierra and selva):

Map from República del Perú - Instituto Geográfico Nacional

• Chala (West, Pacific Coast) 0– 500 m
• Omagua (Lowland jungle or Selva baja, Amazonic rainforest) 80– 400 m
• Rupa-Rupa (Highland jungle, Selva alta) 400– 1,000 m
• Yungas (Aymaran for "Warm Lands", Cloud forest)
  • Loma-Vegetation (West, "Yunga costal" at the north of Peru) 450– 600 m
  • Fluvial Yungas (East, "Yunga fluvial") 1,000- 2,300 m
• Quechua (East, High valleys) 2,300– 3,500 m
• Suni (or Jalca or Sallqa too, high plateaus and cliffs) 3,500– 4,100 m
• Puna (means "mountain top") 4,100– 4,800 m
• Janca (means white) above 4,800 m, permafrost, rocks, snow and ice[1]

• Biomes & Ecoregions nearby:[8]

Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests

• Bolivian Yungas[9]
• Peruvian Yungas[10]
• Southwest Amazon moist forests[11]

Montane grasslands and shrublands

• Central Andean dry puna[12]
• Central Andean puna[13]
• Central Andean wet puna[14]

Deserts and xeric shrublands

• Atacama Desert[15]
• Sechura Desert[16]

• Mouth of the Amazon River, Atlantic Ocean
  • Belém, Brazil, 24 m, annual mean temperature 26.0°C
  • Gurupa várzea (NT0126)[17]
  • Manaus, Brazil, 72 m, annual mean temperature 26.6°C
  • Monte Alegre várzea (NT0141)[18]
  • Purus várzea (NT0156)[19]
• Colombia - Peru - Brazil border
  • Leticia, Colombia, 84 m, annual mean temperature 25.8°C
  • Tierra Caliente or Tropical rainforest
    • Omagua or Selva baja (Southwest Amazon moist forests - NT0166)[11]
    • Iquitos, Peru, 126 m, annual mean temperature 26.2°C
    • Rupa-Rupa or Selva alta (Iquitos várzea - NT0128)[20]
  • Yunga fluvial (more than 5°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
    • Peruvian Yungas (NT0153)[10]
  • Quechua (High valleys, more than 10°C colder than the Peruan Tropics)
• Tree line
  • Tierra Helada
    • Suni (plateau)
• Mountain pass
  • Puna (mountain slope)
    • Central Andean wet puna (NT1003)[21]
    • Central Andean puna (NT1002)[13]
  • "Andean-Alpine desert"
• Snow line
  • Tierra Nevada or Janca
• Peak

Explanations:

• Region, altitude (m); avg annual precipitation (mm); avg annual temperature (°C);
• Peruvian Highland Rainforest (Tropical climate), Cloud forest (Subtropical climate) and Temperate forest (Temperate climate);
• Cusco reference, estimated avg annual temperature (°C, Lowland Rainforest or Selva baja gets more rain, so it is more cloudy, so it is cooler);
• Snow line reference, Humboldt cold current/ Pacific climate influence, estimated avg annual temperature (°C).[22]
  • Cuzco, Peru; 3,249 m; avg annual temperature 12.5 °C; avg annual precipitation 736 mm.
  • Lima, Peru; 30 m; avg annual temperature 19.2 °C (fog influence); avg annual precipitation 15 mm.