_Piura_, the capital, is situated in south latitude, 5° 11' and in 80° 36' west longitude. It was the first Spanish settlement in Peru, and was founded in the year 1531, by Pizarro, who built the first church in it. The city then stood in the valley of Targasala, near the sea, and was called San Miguel de Piura, but was removed, on account of the unhealthiness of its situation, to its present scite, on a sandy plain. The houses are constructed of bricks, or cane and wood-work, and have generally only one story. The corregidor, and an officer employed in collecting the royal revenue, reside here and at Payta alternately, and the town contains about 7000 inhabitants. It has an hospital and church; the climate is hot and dry, but not unwholesome, and water is sometimes scarce in the heats of summer. It is 25 miles south-south-east of Payta, its port; 208 north-north-west of Truxillo; 480 north-north-west of Lima, and seven from the ocean; and its territory is fertile, and produces some cotton, sugar, maize and has extensive woods of Sarsaparilla. _Tumbez_ is situated in 3° 6' south latitude, and 80° 6' west longitude, 280 miles north of Truxillo, and 62 leagues N. of Piura, on the Rio Tumbez, which discharges itself into the bay of Guayaquil, opposite the isle of Santa Clara. It is seated a short distance from the mountains, in a sandy plain, and consists of about 70 houses, scattered without any order, in which there are about 150 families, mostly mestizoes and Indians, and along the banks of the river there are many farms, where they continually employ themselves in rural occupations. Tumbez was the place where the Spaniards first landed in 1526, and where they were astonished at the immense temples and palaces they every where observed, no vestiges of which now remain. The road from this town to Piura is extremely unpleasant, owing to its running along the sea-coast, and being only passable at low water in some points. The village of Amotape, the only inhabited place on the road, is 48 leagues from Tumbez, after which the way lies over a sandy desert, where even the most experienced guides occasionally lose their way; and as no water is to be procured here, it is necessary to carry that article in skins on the backs of mules; near the last stage is a deposit of mineral tar, which is exported to Callao, for the purposes of ship-building. _Sechura_ is the last town of Piura on the south; it is situated on the banks of the river Piura, a league from the ocean, and 180 miles north-north-west of Truxillo, in 5° 32' 33" south latitude. It contains about 200 houses, with a handsome brick church, and the inhabitants, who are all Indians, compose about 400 families, being chiefly employed in fishing, driving mules, or guiding passengers to Morrope, across the desert of Sechura, which is a waste of sand extending 30 leagues, of difficult and dangerous passage.