Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area
| Lima Metropolitan Area | |
|---|---|
| Country |
 Peru
|
| Region | Lima |
| Province | Lima and Callao |
| Largest city | Lima |
| Population (2007 Census) | |
| • Total | 8,887,935 (2,007 census) 9,752,000 (2,015 estimate) |
| Time zone | PET (UTC-5) |
The Lima Metropolitan Area (Spanish: Área Metropolitana de Lima, also known as Lima Metropolitana), is an area formed by the conurbation of the Peruvian cities of Lima (the nation's capital) and Callao. It is the largest of the metropolitan areas of Peru, the seventh largest in the Americas, the fourth largest in Latin America, and among the thirty largest in the world. The conurbation process started to be evident in the 1980s. The metropolitan area is composed of six subregions. These are the Lima Norte, Lima Sur, Lima Este, Residential Lima, Central Lima, and Callao. Its estimated 2015 population is 9,752,000 according to INEI statistics.
The city of Lima was founded by Spanish colonists on January 18, 1535. The port of Callao was founded similarly two years later (1537). The city of Lima began when Francisco Pizarro declared it at what is known in Christianity as the Epiphany. He declared it at the center of the city, the Plaza Mayor. It would become the most important city in South America.
The city of Callao has also been highly important, as for hundreds of years it was the only port in all of the Viceroyalty of Peru (all of Spanish South America at the time) allowed to ship anything to the rest of the world. For hundreds of years, Lima and Callao were separated by a desert. This did not diminish the importance of the union between the two cities. It was not until the 19th century that they were connected by a railroad. The metropolitan linkage between these two cities did not start until they both grew enough to, in essence, crash into each other.
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