Cordillera Blanca

The Cordillera Blanca is a mountain range in Peru’s Ancash region and the highest tropical mountain range in the world. It forms part of the Andes and includes Huascarán, Peru’s highest peak.

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Huascarán: A mountain massif in Peru containing the country’s highest summit, at 6,768 meters. Its two principal summits dominate the range and give it Peru’s highest point.
Andean orogeny: The long-term mountain-building process that formed the Andes through subduction and crustal deformation. The Cordillera Blanca is one product of this continent-scale mountain building.
Huascarán National Park: A protected area in Ancash, Peru, encompassing much of the Cordillera Blanca. It protects the range’s ecosystems, glaciers, and cultural heritage.
Ancash: A coastal and Andean region of north-central Peru, officially organized as a department. The Cordillera Blanca lies within Ancash and strongly shapes its landscape and livelihoods.
Alpamayo: A 5,947-meter peak in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca, known for its steep, sculpted ice faces. Its distinctive pyramid-shaped profile made it one of the range’s best-known peaks.
Cordillera Blanca Batholith: A large body of granitic rock beneath much of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca. Its uplift and exposure helped produce the range’s high, rugged terrain.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: A cultural or natural property inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for outstanding universal value. Huascarán National Park received this designation in 1985 for its natural significance.
1970 Huascarán avalanche: A debris avalanche triggered by the 1970 Ancash earthquake that buried Yungay, Peru. It demonstrates how seismic shaking and glacial terrain combined in a catastrophic event.
Pastoruri Glacier: A glacier in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca that has undergone substantial retreat. Its accessible ice makes glacier retreat visible within the range.
Ancash earthquake: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck Peru on May 31, 1970, triggering landslides and avalanches. Shaking destabilized Huascarán’s north face and triggered the debris avalanche that buried Yungay.