Lambayeque () is a department and region in northwestern Peru known for its rich Moche and Chimú historical past. The region's name originates from the ancient pre-Inca civilization of the Lambayeque. It is the second-smallest department in Peru after Tumbes, but it is also its most densely populated department and its eighth most populous department. Etymology The name Lambayeque is a Spanish derivation of the god Yampellec, said to have been worshipped by the first Lambayeque king, Naymlap. The Spanish gave the name to the early people. Geography The territory of the department of Lambayeque is made up of wide plains irrigated by rivers from the Andes; in most of the arid area, irrigation is needed to support any farming. The fertile river valleys produce half of the sugar cane crop of Peru. In addition, Lambayeque and the department of Piura provide most of the rice crops consumed in Peru. Increased agricultural harvest is expected with completion of the Olmos Transandino Project. The water supply project will transfer up to 2 billion m3 annually of water from the Huancabamba River in the department of Cajamarca east of Lambayeque. In the smaller scale farming of earlier centuries, the Olmos Carob Tree Forest supported goat herds that fed on carobs. The fine goatskins were tanned to create the fine, pale, leather known as "cordoban" or "cordovan", from the Spanish town of Córdoba, where the process was developed. Goat fat was used to make soap. There are two small islands off the Pacific coast of the department of Lambayeque: Lobos de Afuera, and Lobos de Tierra; there was a dispute with the department of Piura over ownership of the latter island. The region is bordered by the Piura Region on the north, the Cajamarca Region on the southeast, the La Libertad Region on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Political division The department is divided into 3 provinces (provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 38 districts (distritos, singular: distrito). The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are: Chiclayo (Chiclayo) Ferreñafe (Ferreñafe) Lambayeque (Lambayeque) History Legend tells that in ancient times, a great float of balsa rafts arrived at the beaches of the existing San José cove. Formed by a brilliant cortege of nine foreign warriors, this float was led by a man of great talent and courage, named Naymlap, the mythical founder of the first northwest civilization. Among the