The origin of the name '' Caraz '' is uncertain , the following are possibilities . One possibility is that it derives from the quechua word '' QARA-PUNKu '' , meaning " leather door " , as the doors in Caraz were once covered with leather . Don Celso V. Torres maintains that the name comes from the quechua word '' KALLASH '' meaning sterile and without vegetation . Another possibility is that it comes from the quechua word '' QARAS '' , referring to the magüey plants found in the area . The town is located at an elevation of about 2250 m in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range . It keeps the traditional architecture and life style of an Andean village , as the remaining cities in the valley were destroyed after the 1970 Ancash earthquake
1970 Ancash earthquake
1970 Ancash earthquake
Caraz