The Cordillera Blanca is the most extensive tropical ice-covered mountain range in the world and has the largest concentration of ice in Peru. It is part of the Cordillera Occidental (the westernmost part of the Peruvian Andes), and trends in a northwesterly direction for 200 km between 8°08′ and 9°58’S of latitude and 77°00′ and 77°52′ W of longitude. It has five of the most spectacular peaks above 6,000 m in the Peruvian Andes; the highest peak, Huascarán, rises to an elevation of 6,768 m above sea level.The Cordillera Blanca also acts as a continental divide: the Santa River on the west drains into the Pacific Ocean, whereas the Marañón River on the east drains into the Atlantic Ocean.