| Lake Lauricocha | |
|---|---|
| Basin countries | Peru |
| Max. length | 7 km |
| Max. width | 1.4 km |
| Surface elevation | 3,845 m |
Lago Lauricocha is a lake in the Andes mountains of central Perú.
Lago Lauricocha at is the northernmost of the lakes fed by the Andean glaciers, 20 km east of mount Yerupajá and 190 km NNE of the Peruvian capital Lima. The lake lies at an elevation of 3,845 m in a sparsely populated area.
The lake's east-western extension is 7,000 m, from north to south the widest extension is 1,400 m. Depth 75 m.
Lago Lauricocha gets its water from small rivers coming down from the Cordillere Raura. The Río Lauricocha issues from Lago Lauricocha and later joins Río Marañón, which is one of the headwaters of the Amazon River. For a couple of centuries, Lago Lauricocha had been seen as the source of the Amazon River, until in 1971 the US-American Loren McIntyre discovered the source of the Río Apurímac to be the origin of the Amazon River which was confirmed by a 2001 expedition.