Yungay, Peru
Yungay | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Cemetery in Yungay | |
| Country |  Peru |
| Region | Ancash Region |
| Province | Yungay Province |
| District | Yungay District |
Yungay is a town in the Ancash Region in north central Peru, South America.
Location
Yungay is located in the Callejón de Huaylas on Río Santa at an elevation of 2,500 m, 450 km north of Lima, the country's capital. East of the small town are the mountain ridges of snow-covered Cordillera Blanca, with Huascarán, Peru's highest mountain, no more than 15 km east of Yungay.
Yungay is the capital of Yungay Province, as well as the main town in the Yungay District. Yungay Province has a population of 60,000 (2000 estimate). The Province of Yungay occupies part of the Callejón de Huaylas, the Conchucos Valley (Yanama), the coast of Ancash (Quillo) and the Huascarán National Park.
History
The "Restoration" army, a Chilean-Peruvian army during the War of the Confederation, defeated the army of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation during the Battle of Yungay on January 20, 1839, marking the dissolution of the short-lived confederacy.
A remarkable event of the history of Peru happened in Yungay, where in the Guitarrero Cave 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
On May 31, 1970 a debris avalanche caused by the 1970 Ancash earthquake 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 [1]. Only 92 people survived, most of whom were in the cemetery and stadium at the time of the earthquake, 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 elsewhere in the valley.
References
- ^ H. Carlson, Diane; McGeary, David; C. Plummer, Charles (2007). Physical Geology, 11th ed. The McGraw Hill Company, Inc.
Further reading
- Oliver-Smith, Anthony (1986): The Martyred City: Death and Rebirth in the Andes. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press ISBN 0-8263-0864-3
- Murphy, 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
- Template:Es icon Earthquake 31 May 1970 (chimboteonline)
- Template:Es icon Earthquake 31 May 1970 (yungayperu.com, with details and fotos of the catastrophe)
Literature
- Oliver-Smith, Anthony (1986): The Martyred City: Death and Rebirth in the Andes. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press ISBN 0-8263-0864-3
- Murphy, Alan (1999): Peru Handbook. Bath: Footprint ISBN 0-8442-2187-2