| Cordillera Blanca | |
|---|---|
 Huandoy (6,360 m) | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Huascarán |
| Elevation | 6,768 m (22,205 ft) |
| Coordinates | 9°07′17″S 77°36′32″W / 9.12139°S 77.60889°W |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 180 km (110 mi) N-S |
| Width | 21 km (13 mi) |
| Geography | |
  Cordillera Blanca Location of Cordillera Blanca inside Peru. | |
| Country | Peru |
| Region | Ancash |
| Range coordinates | 9°10′S 77°35′W / 9.167°S 77.583°W |
| Parent range | Andes |
The Cordillera Blanca (Spanish for "white range") is a mountain range in Peru that is part of the larger Andes range and extends for 200 kilometres (124 mi) between 8°08' and 9°58'S and 77°00' and 77°52'W, in a northwesterly direction.[1] It includes several peaks over 6,000 metres (19,690 ft) high and 722 individual glaciers.[1] The highest mountain in Peru, Huascarán, at 6,768 metres (22,205 ft) high, is located there.[1][2]
The Cordillera Blanca lies in the Ancash region and runs parallel to the Santa River valley (also called Callejón de Huaylas in its upper and midsections) on the west. Huascarán National Park, established in 1975, encompasses almost the entire range of the Cordillera Blanca.[2]
Snowmelt from the Cordillera Blanca provides part of northern Peru with its year-round water supply, while 5% of Peru's power comes from a hydro-electrical plant located in the Santa River valley. The area of permanent ice cover shrank by about a third between the 1970s and 2006.[3]
- ^ a b c "Peruvian Cordilleras". USGS. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ a b "Huascarán - Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado". www.sernanp.gob.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
- ^ Painter, James (2007-03-12). "Peru's alarming water truth". BBC News Online: Americas. News.BBC.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14.