Selva
The Peruvian Jungle forest region, or Selva, lies to the east of the Andes at the Amazon Basin that can be divided up to form two parts or subregions: the Low Selva and the High Selva. The Selva is part of Peru as it is found at the east of the Andes, in which the High Selva is found around the steps of the Andes at the heavily forested foothills while the Low Selva is found as the lowlands of the Amazonia with this tropical lowland as more than half of all of Peru. The Low Selva, or selva baja, is the transition zone that runs between the eastern foothills of the Andean highlands and the vast reaches of the lower jungle areas as the majority of it is covered by thick rain forests. On the other hand, the High Selva is a region that consists of upland cloud forestry and highland jungles as it is known variously as the “eyebrow of the jungle,” or ceja de selva, montãna, or selva alta, which means “high jungle.” The High Selva slopes down eastwards to the plains of the Low Selva. Examples of settlements within the High Selva include the Tingo Maria and Tarapoto, while east of the High Selva lies the dense, relatively flat lowland jungles of the Amazon Basin. Here in the Selva do rivers replace roads as the main arteries of public transport as boats pursue the wide tributaries of the Amazon River until they reach the Amazon itself by stretching past the jungle city of Iquitos in northeastern Peru and on to the Brazilian coast. A large network of rivers crisscross the entire Selva as two of Peru's most important rivers, the Maranon River and the Ucayali River, flow through the Low Selva to join the Amazon River in northern Peru that eventually crosses the border into Brazil. According to the United States Library of Congress’ Country Studies, the Peruvian Selva is the largest region of Peru as it covers approximately 63 percent of the national territory, but contains only eleven percent of the country’s population. Settlements within the low Amazon tend to be small and isolated with the exception of large cities such as Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Puerto Maldonado as they are all nearly jungle settlements located on a riverbank or on the banks of an oxbow lake, a U-shaped body of water. However, besides these settlements and the forestry within, the health of the jungle region and its inhabitants are being threatened by the extractive industries working within such as logging, mining, and oil production. Not only that, but despite both national and international concerns about the Selva, indigenous peoples such as the Shipibo and Asháninka are still struggling to maintain their tribal rights within their jungle territories here in the Selva. The Selva region interests many tourists and scientists, too. The area is popular with tourists who want to experience South American rain forests, while scientists work with the rain forest plants to create new medicines through their research at the Selva region. For example, scientists have already found uses for some rain forest plant life as the cinchona tree produces quinine, which is used to fight the disease, Malaria, with Peru showing the cinchona tree on its “coat of arms.” As one can see, the Selva region consists of two parts as there is a Low Selva and High Selva, along with many other geographic features and as a popular area itself.