The Inca's Challenging Environment

The center of the Inca economy and society was agriculture. The geography of the Inca kingdom consisted of high mountains, desert, and even a vast rainforests. However, most of the population lived in the mountains. One challenge the Inca had to face living in the mountains was altitude. Thin air, steep mountains and freezing nights of the high reaching Andes was challenging. Another part of the kingdom was at a lower elevation which supplied land for farming. The Inca conquered these challenging environments by zoning three different areas for raising different crops and livestock. Zone 1 (below 5,000 ft) also called Yunga was for fruit trees which included avocado and limes. Zone 2 (between 5,000 – 10,000 ft) called Quechua is where