Peru, located in west central South America, is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil and Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. At 494,210 square miles, it is the third in size (after Brazil and Argentina) of South American countries. The indigenous people are descendants of the Inca, who ruled the area until the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, lured by the gold and silver mines of the Andes.