The Amazonian lowlands of Peru are composed of the Subandean Zone (foreland), the Marañón Basin (foredeep) and the Iquitos Geanticline (Brazilian Craton). The Subandean Zone includes the Subandean Thrust and Fold Belt (STFB) to the west, which crops out mostly in the foothills, and the Subandean Tilted Block Zone (STBZ) to the east, which is principally exposed in the Amazonian lowlands of central Peru. The main trends of river belts are related to structural style. Main rivers in the STFB are antecedent, and secondary drainage is subsequent. In the STBZ, river basins are channelized, parallel to structural grain. The special asymmetric pattern of the Subandean drainage network depends on these two juxtaposed structural regions. As a result, fluvial migration in Peruvian lowlands is more controlled and limited by neotectonics than previously supposed. © 1992.