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CORDILLERA BLANCA
Natural Heritage of Peru
Established in 1975, the Parque Nacional Huascarán
contains all the Cordillera Blanca (with the exception
of the distant Nevado Champará in its extreme north),
the highest range of the Peruvian Andes and the highest
range in the world's tropical zone. Its total area is
approximately 1300 square miles (340,000 hectares),
roughly 110 miles (180 km) north-south, and an average
of only 12 miles (20 kin) east-west. Within its
boundaries are thirty mountains above 6000 meters (19686
ft) above sea level (fifteen are above 20,000 feet, 6096
meters), crowned by Nevado Huascarán itself at 22205
feet (6768 m). ("Nevado" means snow-covered peak.) There
are another thirty peaks above 18500 feet (5640 in), as
well as hundreds of glacial lakes, rivers, and
waterfalls, and an abundance of flora and fauna.
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