Tumbes () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru bordering Ecuador. Due to the region's location near the Equator it has a warm climate, with beaches that are considered among the finest in Peru. Despite its small area, the region contains a wide variety of ecosystems. It is the smallest department in Peru and its third least populous department after Moquegua and Madre de Dios, but it is also its third most densely populated department, after La Libertad and Lambayeque. The name "Tumbes" originates from either Tumpis, a group of native peoples from the area, the word tumbos, a species of Passiflora that used to abound in the area, or the name of the Tumba cacique, whose son founded and populated the area. Geography The Tumbes Region is bordered by the Ecuadorian provinces of El Oro and Loja on the east; Peru's Piura Region on the south; and by the Pacific Ocean on the north and west. Morphologically, four zones can be defined in the region: the delta of the Tumbes and Zarumilla rivers; an alluvial plain north of the Tumbes River, with dry, low-depth ravines; ancient terraces that have been strongly eroded in the Máncora area; and the Amotape mountain range in the east and south, ending at El Barco Mountain. The delta of the Tumbes river is shallow, and when the tide is low, little sandy keys show up, which get covered by mangrove vegetation. Despite its small area— it is the second-smallest region in Peru— Tumbes has a great variety of ecosystems: mangroves, Tumbes–Piura dry forests, the only coastal tropical forests in Peru, and a rich and warm sea. Around 50% of the region's territory is covered by three protected natural areas: the Manglares de Tumbes National Sanctuary (which is part of the Gulf of Guayaquil–Tumbes mangroves), the Cerros de Amotape National Park and the Tumbes Reserved Zone. Demographics Basically composed of a large mestizo population rooted in a mixture between the pre-Incan Tumpis and Tallanes tribes, Spanish, creoles, the African peoples, including mulatos or zambos, and a small Chinese community of mostly Cantonese ancestry. Population According to the 1993 Census, the Tumbes Region has a population of 155,521 inhabitants, 53% of which (82,426) are male and 47% (73,095) are female. , the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática estimates the region's population to be 215,634. Languages The majority of the region's residents (98.3%) speak