| San Martín | |
| Native Name: | Departamento de San Martín (Spanish) San Martin suyu (Kichwa) |
| Settlement Type: | Department |
| Coordinates: | -7.2°N -76.8°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Peru |
| Subdivision Type1: | Subdivisions |
| Subdivision Name1: | 10 provinces and 78 districts |
| Subdivision Type3: | Largest city |
| Subdivision Name3: | Tarapoto |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Moyobamba |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Pedro Bogarín Vargas |
| Governing Body: | Regional Council of San Martín |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 51253.31 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | (Capital) |
| Elevation Max M: | 3080 |
| Elevation Min M: | 190 |
| Population Total: | 813381 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Postal Code Type: | UBIGEO |
| Postal Code: | 22 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 042 |
| Iso Code: | PE-SAM |
| Website: | www.regionsanmartin.gob.pe |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Principal resources |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Coffee, rice, yucca, cocoa, tobacco, cebu cattle. |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Poverty rate |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 62.4% |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Percentage of Peru's GDP |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | 1.85% |
San Martín (pronounced as /es/) is a department and region in northern Peru. Most of the department is located in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Its capital is Moyobamba and the largest city in the department is Tarapoto.
The territory of San Martín can be divided into four morphological zones:
The Huallaga River is one of the most important rivers in the region. It forms, together with its tributaries a hydrographical system which drains all of the region's territory. The Pongo de Aguirre is an important canyon formed by the Huallaga going through the Andean hills.
Tupac Yupanqui entered and subdued the Inca dominion, the province of Moyobamba, known back then by its native name, Muyupampa. In 1539, Spaniard Alonso de Alvarado reached the Mayo River and founded a city he named Santiago de los Valles de Moyobamba, which later became the capital of Maynas. Another important personality was Priest Manuel Sobreviela who, between 1787 and 1790, accomplished traveling across the Huallaga River and subsequently published a map named "Planning for the course of the Huallaga and Ucayali Rivers and for the Pampa del Sacramento".
On August 19, 1821, Moyobamba was the first Peruvian city in declaring its independence.
The construction of a highway in recent years has increased the exchange of different products, benefitting the economy of this region.
The region is divided into 10 provinces (Spanish; Castilian: provincias, singular: Spanish; Castilian: provincia), which are composed of 78 districts (distritos, singular: distrito).
The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are:
Gran Pajáten is a pre Inca complex of circular slate buildings decorated with figures of flying condors situated on the border with La Libertad. Due to its difficult access, tourism is not yet possible at the site.