Andes Mountains
Geography
When people think of the Incan culture they usually think of the Andes Mountains, but that is not the only place the Incans traveled! The Incan Empire was located on the far west side of South America. Although the Empire was huge, it can be easily divided into three geographical regions: the Andes Mountains, Amazon Jungle, and Caostal Desert. Andes Mountains: The entire Incan Empire was covered by the Andes Mountains from north to south. The mountains dominated Incan society. The Andes created a natural barrier between the coastal desert on one side and the jungle on the other. The snow-capped mountains were full of deep gorges. The Incas built bridges across the gorges so they could reach all parts of their empire quickly and easily. These mountain gorges were natural barriers. If an enemy approached, the Incas could simply burn the bridges. Amazon Jungle: On one side of the Andes was the Amazon jungle. The Incas must have entered the jungle occasionally, because the did know about the many valuable things that could be found in the Amazon, like wood and fruit and natural medicines. But they never established settlements there. They had no desire to live in the jungle. The Incas expanded north and south instead. Coastal Desert: Between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean is a coastal desert 2000 miles long and between 30-100 miles wide. The desert provided a wonderful natural barrier. Some scientists think it is the driest place in the world. It is not completely barren. There are fertile strips where small rivers and streams run from the Andes mountaintops to the sea.
Sources:
http://incas.mrdonn.org/geography.html
http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/Historical,_Cultural,_and_Geographical_Setting_of_the_Incas_-_Whitney_Bailey
Sources:
http://incas.mrdonn.org/geography.html
http://wikis.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/Historical,_Cultural,_and_Geographical_Setting_of_the_Incas_-_Whitney_Bailey