Sullana | ||
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Nickname(s): La perla del Chira (The Chira's pearl) | ||
Location in Peru | ||
Coordinates: 4°54′S 80°31′W / 4.900°S 80.517°W | ||
Country | Peru | |
Region | Piura | |
Province | Sullana | |
Founded | July 8, 1783 | |
Population | ||
• Estimate (2015) | 201,302 | |
• Metro (2005 estimate) | 225,562 | |
Time zone | PET (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | PET (UTC-5) |
Sullana is the name of the capital of the Sullana Province, in the north-western coastal plains of Peru on the Chira valley.
Sullana is located at 04°53' south latitude and 80°41' west longitude, 38 km north of Piura, the capital of the region.
The province has a tropical savanna climate and an average temperature of 27°C degrees. The minimum temperature is 16 °C and the maximum temperature is 38 °C (can go over 42 °C mark if the El Niño phenomenon is present).
The city is irriganted by the waters of the Chira River, the area around the capital city of Sullana is very fertile and there is much lush, tropical vegetation: Coconut palm trees, banana trees, paddy fields, etc. Sullana is an important commercial centre in one of Peru's major cotton-growing areas, along with the San Martín Region and the smaller Tumbes Region. A new sugar cane plantation has been planted nearby by Maple Ethanol for ethanol production.
Migration to Sullana has been intensive, but "pueblos jóvenes" (shanty towns) are neither widespread nor conspicuous, as they are in Piura for example. The total population in Sullana was 112,770 in 1981, 147,361 in 1993 and c. 162,500 in 2005.
The Chira valley has always been an important farming area. Before the Spanish Invasion, ethnic groups like the Tallanes, the Mochicas, the Chimú, and finally the Incas had settled here. This region was chosen by the Spaniards to found their first city in this part of the Americas, San Miguel de Tangarara, on July 15, 1532. The Spaniards changed the native farming system and created Repartimientos and Encomiendas.