Misti, also known as Putina or Guagua Putina, is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

dacite Dacite () is a volcanic rock formed by rapid solidification of lava that is high in silica and low in alkali metal oxides. It has a fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. ...

, and

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained groundmass. The mineral ...

located in southern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

near the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

. With its seasonally

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

-capped, symmetrical cone, Misti stands at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

and lies between the Chachani massif () and

Pichu Pichu Pichu Pichu or Picchu Picchu is an inactive eroded volcano in the Andes of Peru. It is located in the Arequipa Region, Arequipa Province, on the border of Pocsi and Tarucani districts.escale.minedu.gob.pe – UGEL map of the Arequipa Province ...

volcano (). Its last eruption was in , 198 years after its previous documented eruption.

Description

Misti has three

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center point ...

craters. Active fumaroles (volcanic gas vents) can be seen in the inner crater. Near the inner crater, six

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

and rare Inca artifacts were found in 1998 during a month-long excavation directed by archaeologists

Johan Reinhard Johan Reinhard (born December 13, 1943) is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society. He is also a senior research fellow at The Mountain Institute, a visiting professor at Catholic University, Salta, Argentina, an honorary p ...

and Jose Antonio Chavez. These findings are currently stored at the ''Museo de Santuarios Andinos'' in Arequipa. The volcano has two main

climbing routes A climbing route is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, rock, or ice wall. Routes can vary dramatically in difficulty and grade; once committed to that ascent, it can sometimes be difficult to stop or return. Choice of rout ...

. The Pastores route starts at . Usually a camp is made at at Nido de Aguilas. The Aguada Blanca route starts at near the Aguada Blanca reservoir, and a camp is made at at Monte Blanco (the camp is named after Mont Blanc, the summit of which is approximately the same elevation as the camp). Neither climbing route presents technical difficulties, but both are considered strenuous because of the steep loose sand slopes.

Surrounding area

A long history of eruptions from Misti and its neighboring volcanoes has caused the local soil to be extremely fertile, making the surrounding area one of the most agriculturally productive in Peru. Locals also make extensive use of a white volcanic rock called '' sillar'', which is strong but easily workable. The city of

has a significant number of buildings constructed with ''sillar'', resulting in the nickname ''la ciudad blanca'' ("the white city").

Gallery

Ubinas and Misti.jpg, Aerial picture of

Ubinas Ubinas is an active stratovolcano in the Moquegua Region of southern Peru, approximately east of the city of Arequipa. Part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it rises above sea level. The volcano's summit is cut by a and caldera, wh ...

with Misti in the back (2015). Volcán Misti desde Arequipa, Perú, 2015-08-02, DD 03.JPG, Misti, as seen from Arequipa (2015). El Misti Volcano and Arequipa, Peru.jpg, This

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

of two

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

photographs taken from the ISS illustrates the proximity of

to Misti, just 17 km away (2009). P1020738 El Misti Krater.jpg, The crater of ''El Misti'' (2005).

References

Bibliography

External links