Ancash is a department and region in western Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz, and its largest city and port is Chimbote. The name of the region originates from the Quechua word anqash, from anqas ('blue') or from anka ('eagle').
The Cordillera Blanca 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. It includes several peaks over 6,000 metres (19,690 ft) high and 722 individual glaciers. The highest mountain in Peru, Huascarán, at 6,768 metres (22,205 ft) high, is located there.
Huaraz, formerly designated as San Sebastián de Huaraz, is a city in Peru. It is the capital of the Ancash Region and the seat of government of Huaraz Province. The urban area's population is distributed over the districts of Huaraz and Independencia. The city is located in the middle of the Callejon de Huaylas valley and on the right side of the Santa river. The city has an elevation of approximately 3050 meters above sea level. The built-up area covers 8 square kilometers and has a population of 120,000 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the central Peruvian Andes after the city of Huancayo. It is the 22nd largest city in Peru. Huaraz is the seat of the province's Roman Catholic Bishop and the site of the cathedral.
Huascarán, Nevado Huascarán or Mataraju is a mountain located in Yungay Province, Department of Ancash, Peru. It is situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the western Andes. The southern summit of Huascarán, which reaches 6,768 metres (22,205 ft), is the highest point in Peru, the northern Andes, and in all of the earth's Tropics. Huascarán is the 4th highest mountain in South America after Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, and Monte Pissis. Huascarán is ranked 25th by topographic isolation.
Huascarán National Park is a Peruvian national park that comprises most of the mountain range known as Cordillera Blanca which is part of the central Andes, in the region of Ancash. The park covers an area of 340,000 hectares and is managed by the Peruvian Network of Protected Natural Areas, or SERNANP. It was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1985 by UNESCO, is also a well-known mountaineering spot, and harbors a unique biodiversity with plant species such as the Queen of the Andes, trees of the genera Polylepis and Buddleja, and animals such as spectacled bears, condors, vicunas, and tarucas.
The 1970 Ancash earthquake occurred on 31 May off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean at . Combined with a resultant landslide, it is the most catastrophic natural disaster in the history of Peru. Due to the large amounts of snow and ice included in the landslide that caused an estimated 66,000-70,000 casualties, it is also considered to be the world's deadliest avalanche.
The Santa Valley is an inter-andean valley in the Ancash Region in the north-central highlands of Peru. Due to its location between two mountain ranges, it is known as Callejón de Huaylas, the Alley of Huaylas, whereas "Huaylas" refers to the territorial division's name during the Viceroyalty of Peru.
The Santa River is a river in the South American Andes mountain range in the Ancash Region of northwest central Peru.
Caraz is a town in the Caraz District in the southeastern part of Huaylas Province of the Ancash Region in Peru.
The 1962 Ranrahirca Landslide was deadly landslide that affected the Ranrahirca District, alongside the river Santa, near Huascarán, the highest mountain in Peru. It was hit by massive avalanches of snow, rocks and mud, originating on the slopes of Huascarán and triggered by earthquakes on 10 January 1962 and on 31 May 1970. Over two thousand people from the village perished in the 1962 avalanche, along with the inhabitants of seven nearby settlements. In total about 3,500 died in the disaster. About 20,000 people died in the avalanches that resulted from the second earthquake. 400 survived from the second disaster.
The Yungay Province is one of twenty provinces of the Ancash Region in Peru.
Yungay district is a district in the Province of Yungay in the Ancash region, Peru. It was created by law on October 28, 1904.
Mancos District is one of eight districts of the Yungay Province in Ancash Region, Peru. Mancos is called ``El corazón del Callejón de Huaylas´´ for being located in the centre of Callejón de Huaylas.
Guitarrero Cave is located in the Callejón de Huaylas valley in Yungay Province, in the Ancash region of Peru. The cave stands 50 m (160 ft) above the Santa River and 2,580 m (8,460 ft) meters above sea level.
Pirámide, also called Pirámide de Garcilaso or Pirámide de Garcilazo, is a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca in the Andes of Peru, about 5,885 metres (19,308 ft) high. It is located in the Ancash Region, Huaylas Province, Caraz District as well as in the Yungay Province, Yanama District. Pirámide lies inside Huascarán National Park, southeast of Caraz and Artesonraju and north of Chacraraju, at the very end of the Lake Parón valley.
Quilcayhuanca, Quillcay,Quilcay or Qelkaywanka is a river in the Ancash Region in Peru. It is a right affluent of the Santa River.
Paccharaju is a mountain of 5,744 m (18,845 ft) of elevation in the Cordillera Blanca in the Andes of Peru. In other maps it is shown as comprising two peaks: Rocotuyo of 5,749 m (18,862 ft) and Rayococha of 5,460 m (17,913 ft). It is located between the provinces of Asunción Province and Carhuaz, in Ancash; southwest of mount Tarush Kancha, inside Huascarán National Park.
Pampas Grande, founded as San Jerónimo de Pampas, It is a Peruvian town, capital of the homonymous district, located in the central part of the so-called Callejón de Huaylas in the Ancash region, about 4 hours from Huaraz and 9 from Lima. It has an approximate population of 1044 inhabitants, located at an average altitude of 3690 m a.s.l. It has a cold climate with average temperatures of 17 °C in summer and 12 °C in winter.
The 1970 Huascarán Debris Avalanche occurred on May 31, 1970, when a debris avalanche and mudflow triggered by the Ancash earthquake destroyed the Peruvian town of Yungay and ten nearby villages, leaving up to 30,000 people dead. It is the deadliest avalanche or glacier-related disaster in history, surpassing the death toll from the previous deadliest avalanche disaster, the avalanches of White Friday on the Italian front of World War I and the third or fourth most deadly landslide-related disaster of the 20th century, after the Haiyuan landslides (China), the Armero tragedy (Colombia) and by some estimates the Khait landslide (Tajikistan).
Yungay, currently known as Yungay Viejo and founded in 1540 as Santo Domingo de Yungay, was a town in Peru that served as the seat of the province of the same name in the Department of Ancash. Located 2,400 m.a.s.l., it was destroyed by a landslide that originated at the nearby Huascarán mountain due to the 1970 Ancash earthquake. 5,000 people disappeared during the event, with some 300 people surviving due to taking refuge in the local cemetery.
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