Huaraz, Peru

Click on Image to Enlarge  (JPG) Huaraz, Peru (963,589 bytes) ( 2,115 x 2,139 )

A chunk of glacier was threatening to fall into an Andean lake and cause major flooding in a Peruvian city of 60,000. A fissure has appeared in the glacier that feeds the Lake Palcacocha near the city of Huaraz, 270 km north of Lima. If the piece breaks off, ensuing floods would take 15 minutes to reach the city. In 1941, the lake overflowed and caused massive destruction, killing 7,000 people. The city can be seen in the left-center part of the image. Lake Palcacocha is in the upper right corner of the image at the head of a valley, below the snow and glacier cap. The large image was acquired on November 5, 2001, and covers an area of 32 x 32 km. The 2 enlargements cover 6 x 6 km and were obtained November 5, 2001 and April 8, 2003. The recent image shows the glacier still threatening to collapse into Lake Palcacocha. This image is located at 9.5 degrees south latitude and 77.5 degrees west longitude.

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Huaraz, Peru Type: (JPG) Size: (963,589 bytes) Resolution ( 2,115 x 2,139 )

Huaraz, Peru Type: (JPG) Size: (31,138 bytes) Resolution ( 375 x 396 )

Huaraz, Peru Type: (JPG) Size: (31,947 bytes) Resolution ( 379 x 403 )