Lake Sibinacocha

Lake Sibinacocha^[1][2] (possibly from Quechua siwina whistle, qucha lake, lagoon)^[3] is a lake in Peru. It is ranked as the 22nd^[4] highest lake in the world. It is located in the Cusco Region, Canchis Province, Pitumarca District.^[2] The lake is situated at a height of approximately 4,873 metres (15,988 ft), about 15.19 km long and 2.86 km at its widest point, and drains into the Amazon River.^[5] Sibinacocha lies in the Vilcanota Range, south of Chumpe and southwest of Condoriquiña.^[1]

Lake Sibinacocha
Lake Sibinacocha with Chumpe in the background
Lake Sibinacocha
Location	Cusco Region
Coordinates	13°51′24″S 71°01′30″W
Basin countries	Peru
Max. length	15.19 km (9.44 mi)
Max. width	2.86 km (1.78 mi)
Surface elevation	4,873 m (15,988 ft)
Website	The Sibinacocha Watershed Project

Sibinacocha Dam
Location of Sibinacocha Dam in Peru
Opening date	1996
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Earthen dam
Height	12 m (39 ft)
Length	357 m (1,171 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	110,000,000 m3 (89,000 acre⋅ft)
Power Station
Operator(s)	EGEMSA
Website Represa de Sibinacocha

The lake contains Inca artifact, some of which have been recovered from the lake.^[5] Sacred sites around the lake have been studied as possible locations of the lost Ausangate temple.^[6] The area has been studied for its importance to the greater Urubamba-Vilcanota watershed.^[6] A high-altitude diver, Geoffrey Belter, died in 2014 while exploring the lake.^[6]

An earthen dam was erected at the lake in 1996.^[7] It is 357 m (1,171 ft) long and 12 m (39 ft) high.^[7] The reservoir has a volume of 50,000 m³ (41 acre⋅ft) and a capacity of 110,000,000 m³ (89,000 acre⋅ft).^[7] It is operated by EGEMSA.^[7]

See also

• Lake Singrenacocha
• List of lakes in Peru

References

1. Peru 1:100 000, Ocongate (28-t). IGN (Instituto Geográfico Nacional - Perú).
2. escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Canchis Province (Cusco Region)
3. Teofilo Laime Ajacopa (2007). Diccionario Bilingüe: Iskay simipi yuyayk’anch: Quechua – Castellano / Castellano – Quechua (PDF). La Paz, Bolivia: futatraw.ourproject.org.
4. Drews, Carl. "The Highest Lake in the World". www.highestlake.com/. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
5. Michelutti, Neal; Sowell, Preston; Tapia, Pedro M.; Grooms, Christopher; Polo, Martin; Gambetta, Alexandra; Ausejo, Carlos; Smol, John P. (16 December 2019). "A pre-Inca pot from underwater ruins discovered in an Andean lake provides a sedimentary record of marked hydrological change". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 19193. Bibcode:2019NatSR...919193M. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-55422-1. PMC 6915777. PMID 31844075.
6. Aikman, Jim (2020-02-04), Lost Temple of the Inca (Documentary), Bedrock Film Works, Off the Fence, retrieved 2022-09-16
7. Recursos Hídricos del Perú en Cifras (in Spanish). Autoridad Nacional del Agua / MINAG - Perú. 2010. p. 58.