Sechura Desert, Peru Photograph by Hartmut Jungius   Western South America: Western Peru Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   71,400 square miles (184,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of North Dakota Vulnerable

· A Ribbon of Desert
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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A Ribbon of Desert

The Sechura Desert of western Peru, like the neighboring Atacama Desert in Chile, exists as a long narrow coastal band, bound by the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its maximum width is only 90 miles (150 km), but its length is well over 1,200 miles (2,000 km). This extremely dry ecoregion is almost devoid of vegetation, except in certain riverine areas that flow down from the Andes. However, many of these rivers never make it all the way across the desert, trickling out into nothing before they reach the ocean.

Special Features

The Sechura Desert is a warm coastal lowland desert that extends over much of westernmost Peru. Precipitation is meager, at only 6 to 8 inches (150 to 200 mm) annually. This desert, like other coastal deserts, is one of the few on Earth that receives most of its precipitation in the form of fog. The landscape consists of migrating dunes, subdesert scrublands, riparian oases, high plateaus, Andean foothills, extensive coastline, and deep canyons. Vegetation is sparse, at best. Where woody vegetation does exist, namely in ravines and along river systems, shrubs like huarango, tara, palille, mito, and mesquite are important species. Together, they form a community of thicket or scrub habitat. In the hilly areas of the southern desert, a single species of wild rose prevails: Myrianthes ferreyra.

	The South American fox is the second largest of the South American canids. Only the maned wolf is larger.

Wild Side

A number of endemic plants and animals occur in this parched desert. The Sechura fox, an endemic species, spends most of its time scouring the desert in search of meager food, such as plant materials and invertebrates. Abundant seabird populations, as well as South American sea lions and southern fur seals, can be spotted along the jagged coastline. An endemic species of ovenbird, the Peruvian seaside cinclodes, darts along the rocky shore, dodging waves as it hunts small invertebrates. In a riparian oasis, amazilia and oasis hummingbirds zip from flower to flower as they collect nectar. A cuis cerrano, a relative of the guinea pig, makes paths through grass tufts along the riverbank. Across the night sky, small long-tongued bats seek nectar and pollen in night-blooming blossoms. A large South American fox, or zorro colorado, digs at a small armadillo burrow, trying to coax its prey out.

Cause for Concern

Agricultural expansion, grazing, hunting, and human-induced fires are major threats to the remaining natural habitat. The human population is expanding rapidly, especially around the major cities, and urban sprawl will compound many of these current problems.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.