Callejón de Huaylas

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.

Going north from Lima, the road climbs to an altitude of 3,945 m, where the lake Quñuqqucha marks the head of the valley. This lake is the main source of Santa River. From here the road descends into the Callejón de Huaylas, demarcated by the Cordillera Blanca ("white range") to the east and the Cordillera Negra ("black range") to the west. To the south rise the summits of the Waywash mountain range.

Huaraz, the capital of Ancash, is the largest city in the Callejón, located at 3,000 m above sea level. In the valley north of Huaraz there are the towns Carhuaz, Yungay (the site of a major earthquake and landslide in 1970 that buried the town and killed over 20,000 people) and Caraz which is considered the last city in the valley.

The Callejón de Huaylas stretches for 150 km in the Ancash Region of Peru. The Santa river runs along the valley floor in a north-westerly direction. The valley's southern extreme begins at 4,000 m above sea level, and descends to 2,000 m at its northern end past the city of Caraz where the Santa River leaves the valley. It is bordered by two mountain ranges, the snow-covered Cordillera Blanca (White Mountain Range) to the east, where many climbable peaks boast year-round snow above 5,000 m, and the Cordillera Negra (Black Mountain Range) to the west, reaching over 4,000 m but typically getting no snow as it is exposed to warm coastal winds on its western flank. Nevado Huascarán (6,746 m), the highest peak of Peru, is located in the Cordillera Blanca above the town of Yungay.

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Wikipedia