Micro-environmental zones

Albarracín-Jordan and Mathews, as a part of their respective studies of Tiwanaku Valley settlement systems, formulated a typology of micro-environmental zones ([Albarracín-Jordan and Mathews 1990], Chapter 1). Although the Taraco Peninsula is somewhat different from the Tiwanaku Valley in these respects, it is similar enough for me to use some of their zones, and I have done so for the sake of comparability. Albarracín-Jordan and Mathews defined seven micro-environmental zones:

1. Upper Colluvial Zone (UCZ),
2. Lower Colluvial Zone (LCZ),
3. Springs and Grass Zone (SGZ),
4. Alluvial Plain (AP),
5. Lacustrine Zone (LZ),
6. Terrace Zone (TZ), and
7. Intermontane Zone (IZ).

The Taraco Peninsula is a considerably less varied area than is the Tiwanaku Valley, and only three of these zones are present. They are described below.