| Illimani | |
|---|---|
 Illimani seen from La Paz, Bolivia | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 6,432 m (21,102 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 2,451 m (8,041 ft)[2] |
| Listing | Ultra |
| Coordinates | 16°38′00″S 67°47′27″W / 16.63333°S 67.79083°W[2] |
| Geography | |
  Illimani Bolivia | |
| Country | Bolivia |
| Department | La Paz Department |
| Parent range | Cordillera Real (Andes) |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | 1898 by William Martin Conway, A. Maquignaz, and L. Pellissier |
Illimani (Aymara and Spanish pronunciation: [iʎiˈmani]) is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real (part of the Cordillera Oriental, a subrange of the Andes) of western Bolivia. It lies near the cities of El Alto and La Paz at the eastern edge of the Altiplano. It is the second highest peak in Bolivia, after Nevado Sajama, and the eighteenth highest peak in South America.[3] The snow line lies at about 4,570 metres (15,000 ft) above sea level, and glaciers are found on the northern face at 4,982 m (16,350 ft). The mountain has four main peaks; the highest is the south summit, Nevado Illimani, which is a popular ascent for mountain climbers.
Geologically, Illimani is composed primarily of granodiorite, intruded during the Cenozoic era into the sedimentary rock, which forms the bulk of the Cordillera Real.[4]
Illimani is quite visible from the cities of El Alto and La Paz, and is their major landmark. The mountain has been the subject of many local songs, most importantly "Illimani", with the following refrain: "¡Illimani, Illimani, centinela tú eres de La Paz! ¡Illimani, Illimani, perla andina eres de Bolivia!" ("Illimani, Illimani, you are the sentinel of La Paz! Illimani, Illimani, you are Bolivia's andean pearl!")
- ^ This is sometimes given as 6,462 m, but topographic map sources, including a very accurate map by the German Alpine Club, agree that it is 6,438 m. This figure comes from a differential GPS survey; see the reference to World Mountaineering.
- ^ a b "Bolivian ultra-prominent peaks". peaklist.org. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
- ^ "The 6000m peaks of the Andes". andes.org.uk. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
- ^ Yossi Brain, Bolivia: a climbing guide, The Mountaineers, 1999, ISBN 0-89886-495-X. Some sources claim that Illimani is an extinct stratovolcano, but this is not correct. In fact none of the peaks of the Cordillera Real are volcanic; see Tom Simkin and Lee Siebert, Volcanoes of the World, a regional directory... (second edition), Smithsonian Institution/Geoscience Press, 1994, ISBN 0-945005-12-1.