Pallqaqucha

Palcacocha ( Quechua palka "valley", qucha "lake" ) is a glacial lake in the Andes mountains of South America in the northwestern Peru.

Location

The Laguna Palcococha located in the Ancash region in the high mountain chain Cordillera Blanca at an altitude of 4566 m above sea level, at the foot of Palcaraju ( 6274 m ) and the Pucaranca summit ( 6156 m). The lake is one of several lakes, which supplies the city 23 km south-west of the Río Santa Situated Huaraz with water.

Laguna Palcacocha, 2003

Floods in 1941

In the early morning of December 13, 1941 a giant ice tower of the adjacent glacier fell into the Palcacocha Lake and led to the break of Moränenwalls, the valley limits the lake. The tidal wave broke the downhill lie Jiracocha Lake and plunged down the Cohup Valley, where they tore the earth and rocks with it. Within 15 minutes, the mudslide reached the city of Huaraz, 400,000 cubic meters of rubble spilled material against 6:45 clock large parts of the city, killing more than 6,000 people.

Disaster warning 2003

In April 2003, scientists at NASA discovered on pictures of observation satellites Terra November 2001 a crack in the ice of the glacier at Palcacocha Lake. The immediate warnings made ​​only two weeks after the control of the Seeablaufs by employees of UGRH ( Unidad de Glaciología y Recursos Hidricos ) of the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture after a small crack in the terminal moraine had led to an uncontrolled runoff, which, however, taken by the after 1941 protection measures had been collected.

According to scientists from the University of Innsbruck subsequent panic among the residents and had losses for the local tourism industry, however, can be prevented. According to their findings the warnings of Nasa based on a misinterpretation of the satellite data. As the glaciers have retreated in this part of the Cordillera Blanca due to the global climate changes and their thickness has decreased, there is no imminent threat to the city of Huaraz in the foreseeable future.