Lake Parón
Encyclopedia
Paron lake is the largest lake in the Cordillera Blanca
, on the Peru
vian Andes
, 32 km E from the city of Caraz
, at 4185 m asl.
It's nested and surrounded by several snow peaks such as Aguja I 5840, Aguja II 5888 m, Aguja III 5775 m, Caraz I 6025 m, Caraz II 6020 m, Caraz III 5720 m, Artesonraju
6025 m, Paria 5600 m, Piramide 5885 m, Chacraraju W 6112 m, Chacraraju E 6001 m, Pisco
5772 m, Huandoy E 6000, Huandoy N 6395 m and Huandoy W 6356 m. It's one of the most popular areas for climbing in Peru, including the so famous The Sphinx 5325m, a granite monolith, offering at least 13 big wall routes.
The lake, formed as a natural moraine reservoir, has a catchment’s area of 44.3 km², it's 3.7 km long (E-W) and average of 700 m width (N-S), the original depth was about 75 m, but today the level was lowered ca. 15 m to prevent the collapse of the moraine. The water from the lake was formerly used for the Cañón del Pato hydroelectric scheme, since 29 July 2008, this condition has ceased. The lake itself is within the borders of the "Huascaran National Park
". The water level is controlled by a tunnel and underwater gate, to keep water level at 4155 m asl aiming a double objective: to prevent the overflow and the resulting risk for the downstream population and to manage the river discharge.
The high concentrations of dissolved lime give the water of Paron a turquoise color.
It's a popular day hike for those willing to acclimatize or even ride a mountain bike downhill (note: there's almost a 2000m drop to Caraz). It's possible to camp on the West and East shores, and from the East end, an easy walk can lead to the impressive pyramid or Artesonraju (the Paramount Picture's logo).
Cordillera Blanca
The Cordillera Blanca is a mountain range in the Ancash Region of Peru. Part of the larger Andes range, it includes 33 major peaks over high in an area wide and long.-Overview:...
, on the Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, 32 km E from the city of Caraz
Caraz
Caraz is a town in the Caraz District in the southeastern part of Huaylas Province of the Ancash Region in Peru.-Political Creation:Recent investigations propose that it's political creation was dated on 12 February 1821, when Grl...
, at 4185 m asl.
It's nested and surrounded by several snow peaks such as Aguja I 5840, Aguja II 5888 m, Aguja III 5775 m, Caraz I 6025 m, Caraz II 6020 m, Caraz III 5720 m, Artesonraju
Artesonraju
Artesonraju is a peak in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, a part of the Peruvian Andes, is also known as Arteson. To reach the lake there is a dirt road from Caraz which climbs +2000m along 32km in about 1:40 hours. At Pueblo Paron there's a check point and a gate, where visitors must pay...
6025 m, Paria 5600 m, Piramide 5885 m, Chacraraju W 6112 m, Chacraraju E 6001 m, Pisco
Nevado Pisco
Nevado Pisco is a mountain in Peru, located in the Cordillera Blanca about 60 km north of Huaraz. Nevado Pisco was first climbed on July 12, 1951 by C. Kojan, G.Kojan, R.Leininger and M. Lenoir....
5772 m, Huandoy E 6000, Huandoy N 6395 m and Huandoy W 6356 m. It's one of the most popular areas for climbing in Peru, including the so famous The Sphinx 5325m, a granite monolith, offering at least 13 big wall routes.
The lake, formed as a natural moraine reservoir, has a catchment’s area of 44.3 km², it's 3.7 km long (E-W) and average of 700 m width (N-S), the original depth was about 75 m, but today the level was lowered ca. 15 m to prevent the collapse of the moraine. The water from the lake was formerly used for the Cañón del Pato hydroelectric scheme, since 29 July 2008, this condition has ceased. The lake itself is within the borders of the "Huascaran National Park
Huascarán National Park
Huascarán National Park is a national park in the Cordillera Blanca, a range of the Andes, in Ancash of central Peru. It was also pronounced as Natural Heritage of Humanity and recognized as Reserve of Biosphere Core. The highest mountain in Peru is located in the park...
". The water level is controlled by a tunnel and underwater gate, to keep water level at 4155 m asl aiming a double objective: to prevent the overflow and the resulting risk for the downstream population and to manage the river discharge.
The high concentrations of dissolved lime give the water of Paron a turquoise color.
It's a popular day hike for those willing to acclimatize or even ride a mountain bike downhill (note: there's almost a 2000m drop to Caraz). It's possible to camp on the West and East shores, and from the East end, an easy walk can lead to the impressive pyramid or Artesonraju (the Paramount Picture's logo).