Peru is bounded on the northwest by Ecuador, on the northeast by Colombia, on the east by Brazil and Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The capital is Lima. The Costa is a long narrow belt of desert lowlands that contains most of the chief cities of Peru. The Amazon's chief headstreams in Peru are the Mara n and Ucayali rivers.
Earthquakes are frequent.
The climatic regions of Peru are diverse and are defined by land elevation or by the blockage of weather patterns by the Andes. In the Amazon basin are found the parrot, monkey, sloth, jaguar, capybara, and alligator. Piranha are found in the streams. In the 1980s, the economy suffered from hyperinflation, declining per capita output, and mounting external debt. Peru was shut off from IMF and World Bank support in the mid-1980s because of its huge debt arrears.