Huascarán, Nevado Huascarán or Mataraju is a mountain located in Yungay Province, Department of Ancash, Peru. It is situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the western Andes. The southern summit of Huascarán, which reaches 6,768 metres (22,205 ft), is the highest point in Peru, the northern Andes, and in all of the earth's Tropics. Huascarán is the 4th highest mountain in South America after Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, and Monte Pissis. Huascarán is ranked 25th by topographic isolation.
Huascarán as viewed from Callejón de Huaylas
Photograph taken after the 1970 avalanche showing the buried towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (980 ft) above the surrounding land. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges.
Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain
Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center
Fuji volcano
Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust