Thin air,
dangerous terrain
La Rinconada is the world’s highest settle-
ment. At 16,732 feet—almost as high as Base
Camp at Mount Everest—La Rinconada’s
meager oxygen levels and treacherous
terrain make life difficult.
PERU
S. AMER.
La Rinconada
Mount
Ananea
Point of view
19,124 ft
5,829 m
19,114 ft
5,826 m
Lake
Rinconada
La Rinconada
16,732 ft
5,100 m
Pollution from gold processing settles
on glaciers that form the Andean water
system’s headwaters, sending toxic
chemicals such as mercury far downstream.
PERU
SOUTH
AMERICA
Crucero
River
L. Titicaca
Watershed
La Rinconada
Puno
Lake
Titicaca
LAKE
TITICACA
WATERSHED
La Paz
PERU
BOLIVIA
50 mi
50 km
La Rinconada’s buildings are densely
packed between steep cliffs.
500 ft
100 m
The city has grown rapidly in the past
three decades as gold prices have risen.
19,114 ft
5,826 m
City footprint
in 2010
ABOVE
IMAGE AREA
La Rinconada
16,732 ft
5,100 m
Urban growth
since 2010
N
SCALE VARIES IN THIS PERSPECTIVE.
THE DISTANCE FROM LAKE RINCONADA TO
SLEEPING BEAUTY GLACIER IS two MILES.
SOREN WALLJASPER, NGM STAFF
sources: planet labs inc, Airbus
DS Geo, openstreetmap
Thin air,
dangerous terrain
Crucero
River
SOUTH
AMERICA
PERU
La Rinconada is the world’s highest settlement. At 16,732 feet—
almost as high as Base Camp at Mount Everest—La Rinconada’s
meager oxygen levels and treacherous terrain make life difficult.
Yet La Rinconada has grown rapidly in the past three decades as
gold prices have risen. Pollution from gold processing settles on
glaciers that form the Andean water system’s headwaters,
sending toxic chemicals such as mercury far downstream.
L. Titicaca
Watershed
La Rinconada
Point
of view
Puno
Lake
Titicaca
LAKE
TITICACA
WATERSHED
La Paz
PERU
BOLIVIA
La Rinconada’s buildings
are densely packed between
steep cliffs.
50 mi
50 km
750 ft
250 m
19,124 ft
5,829 m
19,114 ft
5,826 m
City footprint in 2010
IMAGE AREA
Urban growth
since 2010
Cerro Lunar
La Rinconada
16,732 ft
5,100 m
Lake Casa
Blanca
N
SCALE VARIES IN THIS PERSPECTIVE.
THE DISTANCE FROM LAKE RINCONADA TO
SLEEPING BEAUTY GLACIER IS two MILES.
SOREN WALLJASPER, NGM STAFF
sources: planet labs inc, Airbus
DS Geo, openstreetmap
Lake Rinconada
15,210 ft
4,636 m