This fault is now the merging point for two currents, "El Nino" - warm waters coming from the north-, and "Humboldt -cold waters coming from the south -which creates a unique climactic condition for proliferation of plankton and phytoplankton, a main food source of innumerable fish species.

Paracas is considered the lungs of the Pacific ocean because of the pureness and oxygenation originated in its waters. Another peculiarity of the area is the strong wind called "Paracas" reaching speeds of up to 21 miles per hour. Added to its natural beauty, Paracas is a very important archaeological and historical site, home to the advanced cultures that flourished in Peru 1,000 B.C. The thousand-year-old culture of Paracas reached a level of development comparable to those of Egypt and Greece. This culture was famous for their colorful textiles, brain surgery & perfecting the embalming of their dead.

From the Labos de Tierra and Lobos de Afuera islands off Chiclayo on the north to the world famous Paracas Island on the south Peru's coastal waters are a virtual haven for sea life, birds and marine mammals. Nearly half the birds and marine mammal populations inhabiting the southern islands are protected within the fifty six hundred square mile, Paracas National Reserve. The reserves crown jewel is Isla Ballestas, a critical hub for rare and endangered species including sea lions, two species of endangered turtles, and more than 110 species of migratory and resident sea birds.

Neighboring islands of Chincha and Guanape, are rich in guano. The nitrogen rich fertilizer has been deposited in pockets over four hundred feet deep by ten of thousands of birds.

Both islands have also provided archeologists with significant discoveries, headless female mummies, whose breast and thighs were covered with symbolized platelets of hammered gold.

The sheer biomass of this island group's marine and terrestrial life forms are as great an attraction as the biodiversity niches of the Amazon rainforests. The island species typify the intrinsic values of Peru's complex natural landscape helping to form a more complete understanding of its total environment.