Jatuncocha (possibly from

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

''hatun'' (in Bolivia always ''jatun'') big, large ''qucha'' lake, "big lake") is a lake in the

Cordillera Blanca The Cordillera Blanca (Spanish for "white range") is a mountain range in Peru that is part of the larger Andes range and extends for between 8°08' and 9°58'S and 77°00' and 77°52'W, in a northwesterly direction. It includes several peaks ove ...

in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

located in the

Ancash Region Ancash (; ) is a department and region in western Peru. It is bordered by the departments of La Libertad on the north, Huánuco and Pasco on the east, Lima on the south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is the city of Huaraz, ...

, Huaylas Province, Santa Cruz District. It is situated at a height of comprising an area of . Jatunccocha lies in the Santa Cruz gorge between the peaks of

Quitaraju Quitaraju or Kitaraju (possibly from Ancash Quechua ''kita'' dam, Quechua language, Quechua ''rahu'' snow, ice) is a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca in the Andes of Peru, about high. It is situated in the Ancash Region, Huaylas Province, Santa ...

in the north and

Caraz Caraz is a town in the Caraz District in the southeastern part of Huaylas Province of the Ancash Region in Peru. Political Creation Recent investigations suggest that its political creation happened on 12 February 1821 when General San Mart ...

in the south, northeast of a smaller lake named Ichiccocha (Quechua for "little lake"). The

Santa Cruz Creek Santa Cruz, (called Yuraqmayu or Yuracma near its end) is a creek in Peru located in Santa Cruz District, Ancash, Santa Cruz District, Huaylas Province, Ancash Region, Ancash. It is a right tributary of the Santa River, Santa River. It originate ...

flows through the lake. It is a right tributary of the

Santa River The Santa River () is a river in the South American Andes mountain range in the Ancash Region of northwest central Peru. River course Lake Conococha, at an altitude of 4,050 m above sea level and at , is considered the headwaters of the Santa R ...

References

Lakes of Peru Lakes of the Department of Ancash {{Ancash-geo-stub