Lake Parón
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| Lake Parón | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | |
| Catchment area | 44.3 km² |
| Basin countries | Peru |
| Max. length | 3.7 km |
| Surface elevation | 4155 m |
Paron lake is the largest lake in the Cordillera Blanca, on the Peruvian Andes, 32 km E from the village of Caraz, at 4185 m asl.
It's nested and surrounded by several snow peaks such as Aguja I 5840, Aguja II 5888 m, Aguja III 5775 m, Caraz I 6025 m, Caraz II 6020 m, Caraz III 5720 m, Artesonraju 6025 m, Paria 5600 m, Piramide 5885 m, Chacraraju W 6112 m, Chacraraju E 6001 m, Pisco 5772 m, Huandoy E 6000, Huandoy N 6395 m and Huandoy W 6356 m. It's one of the most popular areas for climbing in Peru, including the so famous The Sphinx 5325m, a granite monolith, offering at least 13 big wall routes.
The lake, formed as a natural moraine reservoir, has a catchment’s area of 44.3 km², it's 3.7 km long (E-W) and average of 700 m width (N-S), the original depth was about 75 m, but today the level was lowered ca. 15 m to prevent the collapse of the moraine, and the water from the lake are partially used for the Cañón del Pato hydroelectric scheme. The lake itself it's within the borders of the "Huascaran National Park". The water level it's controlled by a tunnel and underwater gate, to keep water level at 4155 m asl aimming a double objective: to prevent the overflow and the resulting risk for the downstream population and to manage the river discharge for use as hidropower production (Cañón del Pato plant, 263 MW).
It's a popular day hike for those willing to acclimatize or even ride a mountain bike downhill (remember that there's almost a 2000m drop to Caraz!!!). It's possible to camp on the West and East shores, and from the East end, an easy walk can lead to the impressive pyramid or Artesonraju (the Paramount Picture's logo).
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