Yungay, Peru
Encyclopedia
Location
Yungay is located in the Callejón de HuaylasCallejón de Huaylas
The Santa Valley is a 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 —Alley of Huaylas—, whereas Huaylas refers to the name of the territorial division's name during the Viceroyalty...
on Río Santa at an elevation of 2,500 m, 450 km north of Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, the country's capital. East of the small town are the mountain ridges of snow-covered Cordillera Blanca
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:...
, with Huascarán
Huascarán
Huascarán or Nevado Huascarán is a mountain in the Peruvian province of Yungay, situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Western Andes. The highest southern summit of Huascarán is the highest point in Peru, and all the Earth's Tropics...
, Peru's highest mountain, no more than 15 km east of Yungay.
Yungay is the capital of Yungay Province
Yungay Province
-Political division:Yungay is divided into eight districts, which are:-External links:...
, as well as the main town in the Yungay District
Yungay District
Yungay district is a district in the Province of Yungay in the Ancash region, Peru. It was created by law on October 28, 1904.-History:The district was struck and many towns and villages were destroyed by the earthquake and alluvium on May 31, 1970 as can be seen from the Callejón de Huaylas...
. Yungay Province has a population of 60,000 (2000 estimate). The Province of Yungay occupies part of the Callejón de Huaylas
Callejón de Huaylas
The Santa Valley is a 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 —Alley of Huaylas—, whereas Huaylas refers to the name of the territorial division's name during the Viceroyalty...
, the Conchucos Valley (Yanama), the coast of Ancash (Quillo) and the Huascarán 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...
.
History
The "Restoration" army, a Chilean-Peruvian army during the War of the ConfederationWar of the Confederation
The War of the Confederation , was a conflict between the Peru-Bolivian Confederation on one side and Chile, Peruvian dissidents and Argentina, on the other, fought mostly in the actual territory of Peru and which ended with a Confederate defeat and the dissolution of the...
, defeated the army of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation
Peru-Bolivian Confederation
The Peru–Bolivian Confederation was a short-lived confederate state that existed in South America between 1836 and 1839. Its first and only head of state, titled Supreme Protector, was the Bolivian president, Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz....
during the Battle of Yungay
Battle of Yungay
The Battle of Yungay effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian Confederation created by Bolivian Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz in 1836...
on January 20, 1839, marking the dissolution of the short-lived confederacy.
A remarkable event of the history of Peru
History of Peru
The history of Peru spans several millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development in the mountain region and the coastal desert....
happened in Yungay, where in the Guitarrero Cave
Guitarrero Cave
Guitarrero Cave is located in the Callejon de Huaylas valley in Yungay Province, in the Ancash region of Peru. The cave stands 50 meters above Rio Santa and 2,580 meters above sea level.-Archeological findings:...
US archeologist Thomas F. Lynch (Cornell University, USA, 1969) discovered very old cultural vestiges from c. 10,000 BC, making this place "one of the great testimonies of the origin of agriculture in América".
Ancash earthquake
1970 Ancash earthquake
The 1970 Ancash earthquake or Great Peruvian Earthquake was an undersea earthquake that occurred on May 31 of that year. Combined with a resultant landslide, it was the worst catastrophic natural disaster ever recorded in the history of Peru....
buried the whole town, killing 25,000 people. The earthquake triggered an unstable mass of glacial ice about 800 meters across at the top of Nevado Huascarán to fall. More than 50 million cubic meters of debris slid approximately 15 kilometers downhill at an angle of about 14 degrees. Speeds between 200 km/h to 400 km/h were achieved . Only 92 people survived, most of whom were in the cemetery and stadium at the time of the earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
, as these zones were the highest in town.
The Peruvian government has forbidden excavation in the area where the old town of Yungay is buried, declaring it a national cemetery. The current town was rebuilt 1500 meters north of the destroyed city.
Further reading
, Anthony (1986): The Martyred City: Death and Rebirth in the Andes. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico PressUniversity of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
ISBN 0-8263-0864-3, Alan (1999): Peru Handbook. Bath: Footprint ISBN 0-8442-2187-2
External links
Caves- Guitarrero caves near Yungay (Peru). First agriculture evidence of Peru 10,000 years ago (maps and photographs)
Earthquake of 31 May 1970 Earthquake 31 May 1970 (chimboteonline) Earthquake 31 May 1970 (yungayperu.com, with details and fotos of the catastrophe)