Huascarán

Huascarán (, ; Quechua: Waskaran), Nevado Huascarán or Mataraju is a mountain located in Yungay Province, Ancash Department, Peru. It is situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the western Andes. The southern summit of Huascarán (), which reaches , is the highest point in Peru, the northern Andes (north of Lake Titicaca), and in all of the Earth's tropics. It is the fourth highest mountain in South America after Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, and Monte Pissis. Huascarán is ranked 25th by topographic isolation.

== Names == thumb|View of Huascarán from the town of Yungay, Peru|Yungay Until the 20th century, the mountain lacked a single commonly accepted name and was known by different names within the surrounding towns and villages. The first recorded mention of the name appeared in 1850 as Huascan, given by the local people likely because the mountain rises above the village of Huashco. Huashco got its name from the Quechua word for rope (). At the beginning of the 20th century, the name appeared as , and has not changed since. It seems that is merely a contraction of , or 'beyond and down from the village of Huashco'.