AYACUCHO

departamento (formed 1822), Los Libertadores-Wari regin, in the highlands of south-central Peru. It is chiefly a region of high plateaus interspersed with valleys. The region is drained by the Apurmac River and its tributaries. Subsistence farming and herding are prevalent, but, in the north, cash crops such as sugarcane and cotton are grown. The departamento's mineral resources include silver, nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, sulfur, and asphalt. Industrial activity is concentrated in the capital and largest city, Ayacucho (q.v.). In the 1970s and '80s Ayacucho departamento was disrupted by the terrorist activities of the Shining Path revolutionary movement. Roads link the departamento with major highland and coastal cities. Area 16,917 square miles (43,814 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 593,754. capital of Ayacucho departamento, Los Libertadores-Wari regin, south-central Peru. It lies in a fertile valley on the eastern slopes of the Andean Cordillera Occidental at an elevation of 9,007 feet (2,746 m) above sea level and has a pleasant and invigorating climate. Ayacucho was founded in 1539 by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro and called Huamanga until 1825. Its present name comes from the surrounding plain of Ayacucho (a Quechua Indian word meaning corner of the dead), where revolutionaries defeated royalist forces in 1824 and secured Peru's independence from Spain. Many colonial buildings survive in the city. The seat of an archbishopric, it has a 17th-century cathedral and many churches and is known for its Holy Week celebrations. The National University of San Cristbal de Huamanga (founded 1677, closed 1886, reopened 1959) is located there. The city's economy is based on agriculture and light manufactures, including textiles, pottery, leather goods, and filigree ware. Ayacucho can be reached by highway from Lima and Cuzco, as well as by air. Pop. (1990 est.) 101,600.