Supe Puerto
Encyclopedia
Puerto Supe, officially known as Supe Puerto (to distinguish it from the neighboring district of Supe Pueblo, a separate municipality), is as small harbor town located in the province of Barranca
, in the Lima Provincias
region, on the coast of Peru
. It is located approximately 190 km north of Lima, and is part of the Supe Valley.
Puerto Supe is known for having one of the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas. The archaeological site of El Áspero has been dated at over 3000 BCE, and is part of a complex of 20 sites spread throughout the Supe Valley that constitute the oldest known civilization in the Americas: The Norte Chico
, or Caral-Supe, civilization.
The town also boasts a lighthouse and a virtually intact, protected beach where the main attraction is a tidal island
known as Isla del Faraón (Pharaoh's Island) that is surrounded by water as the tide rises in the late afternoon (cf. Mont Saint-Michel
in Normandy, France). In recent years, however, the sea seems to have receded (or the ground risen), so that the water now forms an island only occasionally, on the highest tides.
Barranca Province
The Barranca Province is one of the nine provinces in the Lima Region of Peru. It was created by Law No. 23939 on October 5, 1984 by the government of President Fernando Belaunde Terry...
, in the Lima Provincias
Lima Region
Lima Region, also known as Lima Provincias, is one of twenty-five regions of Peru. Located in the central coast of the country, its regional seat is Huacho....
region, on the coast of Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. It is located approximately 190 km north of Lima, and is part of the Supe Valley.
Puerto Supe is known for having one of the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas. The archaeological site of El Áspero has been dated at over 3000 BCE, and is part of a complex of 20 sites spread throughout the Supe Valley that constitute the oldest known civilization in the Americas: The Norte Chico
Norte Chico civilization
The Norte Chico civilization was a complex pre-Columbian society that included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru...
, or Caral-Supe, civilization.
The town also boasts a lighthouse and a virtually intact, protected beach where the main attraction is a tidal island
Tidal island
A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands many of them have been sites of religious worship, such as Mont Saint Michel with its...
known as Isla del Faraón (Pharaoh's Island) that is surrounded by water as the tide rises in the late afternoon (cf. Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches...
in Normandy, France). In recent years, however, the sea seems to have receded (or the ground risen), so that the water now forms an island only occasionally, on the highest tides.