LIMA

city, capital of Lima department and of Peru. It is the country's commercial and industrial centre. Central Lima is located at an elevation of 512 feet (156 metres) on the south bank of the Ro Rmac, about eight miles (13 kilometres) inland from the Pacific Ocean port of Callao, and has an area of 27 square miles (70 square kilometres). Its name is a corruption of the Quechua Indian name Rmac, meaning Talker. The city forms a modern oasis, surrounded by the Peruvian coastal desert and overshadowed by the neighbouring Andes mountains. city, seat (1831) of Allen county, northwestern Ohio, U.S. The city is situated on the Ottawa River, 88 miles (142 km) northwest of Columbus. Laid out in 1831, its name (from Lima, Peru) was chosen by lot by being drawn from a hat. Oil was discovered nearby in 1885, and by the turn of the century Lima was the centre of oil fields, which are now, for the most part, exhausted; the city remains, however, an important pipeline and refining centre. Lima's industrial production is now highly diversified and includes the manufacture of power shovels, electric motors, hoisting machinery, automobile engines and bus bodies, enamel goods, aerospace equipment, and chemicals. The Lima Campus of Ohio State University, east of the city, is also the site of Lima Technical College (1971). Inc. town, 1842; city, 1920. Pop. (1990) city, 45,553; Lima MSA, 154,340; (1994 est.) city, 44,374; (1995 est.) Lima MSA, 156,276. department of central Peru and site of the national capital of Lima. The department occupies an area of 13,058 sq mi (33,821 sq km) from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Cordillera Occidental of the Andes in the east. There is little rainfall along its coastal section, and irrigation is possible only where rivers descend from the Andes. A thick cloud blankets the coast, especially from June to October; where the cloud touches the mountain slopes, from about 2,500 to 4,000 ft (760 to 1,200 m) above sea level, there is a lush growth of herbaceous annual plants known as loma, on which cattle are fed. Above the lomas zone there is a regular rainy season from October to April. The department is Peru's most populous one. It contains, in a single agglomeration centred upon Lima and extending into the adjoining constitutional province of Callao (Lima's separately administered port), nearly one-third of Peru's population. Specifically, the metropolitan area comprises the city of Lima proper, 25 nearby urbanized districts within Lima department, and the urbanized areas of Callao constitutional province. Outside the LimaCallao metropolitan area, most people are farmers and herders. Crops of the irrigated lowlands include sugarcane, cotton, and vegetables. There is some fishing off the coast at Callao and Huacho, and salt is produced from the evaporation of seawater at Huacho and Chilca. In the mountains there are copper mines at Casapalca and coal mines at Oyn. The department is crossed from northwest to southeast by the Pan-American Highway and is connected with highland centres by air, railroad, and highway. Pop. (1984 est.) 5,396,600. city, capital of Lima department and of Peru. Located near the central Peruvian coast just inland from the Pacific Ocean, Lima is the country's commercial and industrial centre. The city is surrounded by the Peruvian coastal desert and overshadowed by the neighbouring Andes Mountains. The following article treats briefly the modern city of Lima. Fuller treatment is provided in the following Macropaedia articles. For history and contemporary life and for a map, see Lima; for additional perspective on the city in its national context, see Peru. Central Lima is situated about 8 mi (13 km) inland from its Pacific port at Callao, on the south bank of the Rmac River. Suburbs extend in all directions except to the east, where urban growth is limited by the Andes. Although Lima is located in the tropical zone, the cooling effect of the offshore Peru (Humboldt) Current creates a temperate climate, with an average temperature of about 62 F (17 C) in winter and about 75 F (24 C) in summer. Despite excessive humidity, annual precipitation averages only 1 to 2 in. (25 to 50 mm). Lima's principal industries produce textiles, plastics, wood, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and man-made fibres. Heavy industry is also important. There are many banks, financial firms, and insurance companies in the city. The main commercial districts are in the southern part of the metropolitan area. The boundaries of the old cityonce marked by the ruins of its wallsare defined by the Avenues Alfonso Ugarte to the west, Unin to the east, and Miguel Grau to the south and by the Rmac River to the north. The metropolitan area extends southwestward to the residential suburbs and seaside resort towns of Miraflores, Barranco, and Chorrillos. Industrial activity is concentrated along the eastwest corridor from Vitarte to Callao and north to south along the Pan-American Highway. The main commercial districts are in the southern part of the metropolitan area. In the rural area surrounding the city, squatter towns known as barriadas (slum neighbourhoods) and pueblos jvenes (new towns) have arisen. The constant migration of rural people to the city has caused a shortage of housing and of services. Lima has a blend of colonial styles with modern architecture, but the frequency of earthquakes in the area has precluded the building of multistoried structures. Examples of Spanish colonial architecture include the cathedral, the temples of San Francisco, and the Palace of the Tagle Tower. The most important university in Lima is the National University of San Marcos (1551). Academies of language and of history are the principal cultural centres in the city. Other institutions include the House of Peruvian Culture, a school of fine arts, a national symphony orchestra, a national conservatory of music, and also a national theatre. The area's many museums include those featuring collections of art, archaeological artifacts, historical items, and pre-Columbian objects made of gold. The National Library and the National Archives of Peru have the country's leading library collections. A well-developed highway network radiates in all directions from the old city, connecting with the Pan-American Highway in the north and south and the Central Highway in the east. The Central Railway of Peru, the highest standard-gauge railway in the world, climbs the Andes from Lima northeast to La Oroya. The railway line to Callao (opened in 1851) is the oldest in South America. Callao is also the site of Lima's international airport. Area metropolitan area, 1,506 sq mi (3,900 sq km). Pop. (1981) city, 4,164,597; metropolitan area, 4,608,010. Additional reading Juan Bromley, La fundacin de la ciudad de los reyes (1935); and Juan Bromley and Jos Barbagelata, Evolucin urbana de Lima (1945), provide the best introductions to the city's evolution up to the 20th century. More recent analyses of Lima's growing pains are Henry A. Dietz, Poverty and Problem-Solving Under Military Rule: The Urban Poor in Lima, Peru (1980); Susan Lobo, A House of My Own: Social Organization in the Squatter Settlements of Lima, Peru (1982); and Peter Lloyd, The Young Towns of Lima: Aspects of Urbanization in Peru (1980). An excellent overview of the political dimensions of Lima's development is provided in Qu hacemos con Lima? Que dicen los candidatos? (1983). David J. Robinson