Chiclayo

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Chiclayo (chēklä´yō), city (1993 pop. 240,050), capital of Lambayeque dept., NW Peru. On the coastal desert between the Andes and the Pacific, Chiclayo may go years at a time with no rainfall. However, by utilizing short Andean streams for irrigation, Chiclayo raises considerable sugarcane, some cotton, and a major part of the country's rice. A major commercial center of the Peruvian north, it is located on the Pan-American Highway and has road and rail connections to Eten and Pimentel.