Location Lima Region Surface elevation 4,900 m | Basin countries Peru | |
Yanawayin (Quechua yana black, Ancash Quechua wayi house, "black house", -n a suffix, other spellings Yanahuain, Yanahuin, Yanahuni, Yanahuani) is a lake in the central Peruvian Andes. It lies in the Lima Region, Huaral Province, Andamarca District, near the village of Yanawayin (Yanahuain). The lake is situated at an altitude of about 4,900 metres (16,100 ft).
Contents
Map of Yanawayin Lake, Peru
Landslide
The site made world headlines in 1971 when on March 18 a rock avalanche of 100,000 cubic metres (3,500,000 cu ft) fell from an outcrop of jointed limestone about 400 metres (1,300 ft) above the lake. It created a wave of 30 metres (98 ft) that destroyed the Chungar Mining Company (Cia Minera Chungar, S.A.) camp on the shore, destroyed all the mines' surface facilities, and killed 200–600 miners.