Photo of the Day: Callejón de Huaylas, Peru
Mt. Caullaraju; photo c. Jorge Vera 2009
El Fotografo took this shot during the drive to Huaraz last week. It’s of the Callejón de Huaylas (“Alley of Huaylas”), a valley in the Ancash Region in the north-central highlands of Peru. Glaciers all along the mountains there are melting due to rapid climate change.
Shooting with a Hasselblad enabled EF to capture the rich colors that briefly lit up the landscape as the sun went down. I believe that’s the Santa River winding along the bottom of the frame; I’m waiting for mountain geographer / photographer Alton Byers to confirm via email. Alton is putting together a repeat-photography exhibit on the mountains of this region and as he says, “there’s probably no better case for climate change than the Cordillera Blanca.”
7 p.m. update: Alton just emailed me this: The mountain is Caullaraju, the first one we saw when the bus came over the pass at Conococha; the plain in front is the Pampa de Lampa. These should be on the C. Blanca map. The river is the Rio Santa, that starts at Laguna Conococha, still quite small at this stage.
Thanks, Alton. 🙂
Barbara
I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.
