Lakes of the Cordillera Blanca: Typology, Inventory, Bathymetry and Evolution

Cordillera Blanca is well-known for its abundant bright blue-colored lakes, creating splendid mountain sceneries. But it is not only their aesthetic value and touristic potential which make these lakes of interest. Lakes also enrich geo- and bio-diversity, represent an important storage of water, sustaining stream flow during dry season, are used for hydropower production however, may also represent a threat to downstream communities in case of sudden water release—lake outburst flood. In this chapter, different types of high mountain lakes of the Cordillera Blanca are described and characterized, with insights from the recent lake inventory and analysis of the large bathymetric dataset. Further, the evolution patterns and potential for future lake formation under changing conditions are discussed.