Lake Sibinacocha
lake in Peru
Lake Sibinacocha (possibly from Quechua siwina whistle, qucha lake, lagoon) is a lake in Peru. It is ranked as the 22nd highest lake in the world. It is located in the Cusco Region, Canchis Province, Pitumarca District. The lake is situated at a height of approximately 4,873 metres (15,988 ft), about 15.19 km long and 2.86 km at its widest point, and drains into the Amazon River. Sibinacocha lies in the Vilcanota Range, south of Chumpe and southwest of Condoriquiña. All five 6000m peaks of the Vilcanota Range are visible from the lake shore; in the other direction, the Quelccaya Ice Cap is visible and -further in the distance- the glaciated Jonorana massif, specifically the peaks of Pomanota and Pomanota Norte.
The lake contains Inca artifacts, some of which have been recovered from the lake. Sacred sites around the lake have been studied as possible locations of the lost Ausangate temple. The area has been studied for its importance to the greater Urubamba-Vilcanota watershed. A high-altitude diver, Geoffrey Belter, died in 2014 while exploring the lake.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Lake Sibinacocha” is lake in Peru. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Lake, Sibinacocha and lake, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “lake in Peru” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6477769. Authority coordinates are -13.857, -71.025. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lake Sibinacocha” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.