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The World in Images

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Quebrada Cojup with breached moraine dam

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WI_pe051.jpg

The prominent gap in the moraine ridge in the centre of this image and the debris deposited directly downstream are the results of a dam failure and sudden drainage of Laguna Palcacocha (formerly impounded behind this ridge) on 13 December 1941. The resulting mass flow caused major damage and numerous fatalities 23 km downstream in Huaraz. The summit in the central background of the image is Nevado Palcaraju (6274 m).