Apurimac

APURIMAC, a river of central Peru, rising in the Laguna de Villafra in the western Cordilleras, 7 m. from Caylloma, a village in the department of Arequipa, and less than 100 m. from the Pacific coast. It flows first north-easterly, then north-westerly past Cuzco to the mouth of the Perene tributary, thence east and north to its junction with the Ucayali at 10° 41' S. lat., and 73° 34' W. long. It is known as the Apurimac only down to the mouth of the Mantaro tributary, 11° 45' S. lat. and 1325 ft. above sea-level. Thence to the mouth of the Perene (984 ft.) it is known as the Ene, and from that point to its junction with the Ucayali (859 ft.) as the Tambo. APURIMAC, an interior department of southern Peru, bounded N. by the department of Ayacucho, E. by Cuzco, S. and W. by Cuzco and Ayacucho. Area, 8187 sq. m.; pop. (1896) 177,387. The department was created in 1873 and comprises five provinces. Its physical features and productions are very similar to those of Ayacucho (q.v.), with the exception that sugar-cane is cultivated with noteworthy success in the low valley of the province of Abancay.

The capital, Abancay, 1 10 m. south-west of Cuzco, which is only a village in size but is rich in historical associations and Andahuaylas, in the north-west part of the department, are its principal towns.