HUANCAVELICA

city, capital of Huancavelica departamento, Los LibertadoresWari regin, central Peru. It is located about 140 miles (225 km) southeast of Lima, in the inter-Andean Huancavelica River valley at an elevation of 12,060 feet (3,676 m). Huancavelica was established as a mining settlement in 1563 after the local discovery of mercury, which was essential in extracting the silver from native ores. Founded as Villa Rica de Oropesa (Rich Town of Oropesa) in 1572, it was almost immediately called Huancavelicaa Spanish corruption of the indigenous Quechua name for the site, meaning stone idoland was officially declared a city with its present name in 1581. The city remained an important mercury-mining centre until the mid-19th century. Most inhabitants of the province are Quechua-speaking Indians who practice subsistence agriculture, cultivating potatoes and barley. Leather and alpaca products are traded in local markets. A narrow-gauge railway running south from Huancayo makes Huancavelica the terminus of a 404-mile (650-kilometre) intermontane rail line from Callao (the port of Lima). Pop. (1990 est.) 25,800. departamento (formed 1822) of central Peru, occupying a rugged, mountainous region of the Andes. With an average elevation of about 15,000 feet (4,600 m), it consists of clusters of high mountains cut by deep canyons. During the Spanish colonial period, mercury was essential in extracting silver from native ore, and the department was famous for its mercury mine at Santa Brbara, some 2,000 feet (600 m) above the department's capital city, Huancavelica. The department's principal agricultural products include wheat, barley, corn (maize), and potatoes. Area 7,169 square miles (18,567 square km). Pop. (1992 est.) 287,103.