Pichu Pichu

Coordinates: 16°26′28″S 71°14′25″W / 16.4411388889°S 71.2403888889°W / -16.4411388889; -71.2403888889
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Pichu Pichu
Highest point
Elevation5,664 m (18,583 ft)
ListingList of mountains in the Andes
Coordinates16°26′28″S 71°14′25″W / 16.4411388889°S 71.2403888889°W / -16.4411388889; -71.2403888889
Geography
Pichu Pichu is located in Peru
Pichu Pichu
Pichu Pichu
Location of Pichu Pichu within Peru
Location
Arequipa, Peru
Parent rangeAndes

Pichu Pichu is an inactive eroded

lava flows with andesitic composition. During the last two million years, a gigantic landslide descended the western side of the volcano and left a large scar that runs north to south. Pichu Pichu bore glaciers during the last glacial maximum, which left moraines
and other glacial landforms after they retreated.

Presently, the mountain is covered with snow only during the summer months, when the monsoon brings precipitation from the Amazon; the last permanent ice disappeared during the last decades. Pichu Pichu is an important source of water for its surroundings. Parts of its flanks are forested, and numerous mammal species have been identified on the mountain.

The Inca built a path on to the mountain and offered human sacrifices, capacochas, on Pichu Pichu. Three mummies, two girls and one boy, were discovered between 1960 and 1996 under a platform close to the summit of the volcano. The mountain was considered to be the seat of a deity, and offerings continue to be made to it.

Name and climbing

The name possibly stems from

Quechua pikchu, meaning "summit". The duplication indicates that there are multiple summits.[1]: 233 [2]: 3  Another etymology relates it to picu, "wooly tuft", reflecting the appearance of the debris pile surrounding the mountain.[3] Thor Heyerdahl linked the word pikopiko to the name Pichu Pichu.[4] An older name of the mountain is "Tunupa".[5]

Ascents usually take place in the months between April and November. The easiest to reach summit has an elevation of 5,515 metres (18,094 ft) above sea level. From there, one can see the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve and the city of Arequipa.[6] Part of the mountain is in the nature reserve.[7]: 274 

Geography and geomorphology

Pichu Pichu is 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of and 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) above

Moquegua Departments runs over the mountain.[8]: 12  The roads between Arequipa and Juliaca and between Arequipa and Matalaque pass around the northern and eastern feet of the volcano, respectively.[9]: 1594 [10]: 223  Together with its neighbours Chachani and Misti, it is part of the Cordillera Occidental[11]: 254  at the edge of the Altiplano,[12]: 15  and rises abruptly from the surrounding terrain.[13]

The volcano consists of a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long[14]: 446  northnorthwest-southsoutheast trending ridge with seven summits.[6] The highest point (Coronado) has an altitude of 5,664 metres (18,583 ft) above sea level[6][2]: 3  and a summit cross was placed on it before 1966.[8]: 21  It lies at the top of a near-vertical drop.[1]: 14  Other summits are 5,247 metres (17,215 ft) (at the northern end of the edifice), 5,425 metres (17,799 ft) (central portion of the ridge) and 5,416 metres (17,769 ft) (southern end of the ridge) high.[15]: 118  One of the summits is known as La Horquetilla or Cerro de las Virgenes;[8]: 8  in 1966 it was thought to be 5,664 metres (18,583 ft) high.[8]: 12  Four volcanic craters have been recognized and are heavily eroded[14]: 446  The upper flanks of the volcano are very steep and hard to access on the eastern and western side.[8]: 13  Their original volcanic shape is best preserved on the northeastern side.[16]: 23  The volcano covers an area of about 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi);[6] glacial and fluvial deposits cover its lower flanks.[17]: 486  During its activity, Pichu Pichu produced mudflows[18]: 37  and ignimbrites that crop out on the western side of the volcano.[19]: 8 

Above 4,200 metres (13,800 ft), the western face of Pichu Pichu is cut by a steep

pseudotachylite,[22]: 1  and to erode the underlying rock.[15]: 121  Water was squeezed upwards, forming muddy dykes within the landslide deposit[21]: 603  and mudflows.[18]: 36  The landslide is responsible for the wiktionary:arcuate shape of Pichu Pichu mountain[20]: 2  and dammed the Andamayo river, forming a now-vanished lake at Chiguata.[23]
: 22 

It is not clear when the landslide occurred, but the ages of the underlying and overlying rocks constrain it to between 2.42 million and 34,000 years ago.[21]: 607  After the landslide, the collapse scar was further modified by erosion, which formed additional scars[15]: 118  and river valleys,[20]: 4  and was covered by material from the other volcanoes in the area.[20]: 3  It is possible that Pichu Pichu erupted again after the collapse.[23]: 22  Originally, the collapse scar was interpreted as being due to glacial erosion.[14] Landslides also occurred on the eastern flank.[24]: 63 

Geology

Off the western coast of South America, the

Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of the Andes.[20]: 2  The Peruvian CVZ includes (from north to south) Coropuna, Ampato, Chachani, Misti, Pichu Pichu, Ubinas, Huaynaputina, Ticsani and Tutupaca. Some of these volcanoes are among the highest in the world.[14]: 443  Pichu Pichu, Misti and Chachani are a group of volcanoes close to Arequipa.[9]: 1593  Four stages of volcanism have been distinguished in southern Peru: The Cretaceous-Paleocene Toquepala Group, the Miocene Huaylillas and Tacaza Formations, and the Miocene-Quaternary Sencca Formation and Barroso Group;[11]: 252  Pichu Pichu is part of the Barroso[6] or Chila.[18]: 33  Several faults run across the region, separating Misti from Pichu Pichu, and volcanoes have formed on them.[17]
: 487 

Pichu Pichu is a

extinct[9]: 1593  and heavily eroded.[8]: 13  After activity ceased, a sector collapse at Misti covered Pichu Pichu's western flank.[9]: 1595  A fault runs between Pichu Pichu and Coropuna volcano and was active during the last 43,000 years.[27]
: 8 

During the

frost shattering takes place, caused by the large day-night temperature differences,[6] and there are rock glaciers within cirques.[28]

Climate, vegetation and hydrology

The climate of the region is relatively dry, with most precipitation falling during the summer months when the

agricultural terraces.[33]: 38  Parts of the volcano are within the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve.[32]
: 89 

The western flank drains into the Andamayo and Mollebaya rivers,

closed basin.[32]: 23  Dry valleys run down the slopes of Pichu Pichu.[26]: 14  The mountain is an important source of water,[6] as water from springs east of Arequipa originates on it.[17]: 485  Rainwater easily penetrates the heavily fractured rocks[26]: 9  and re-emerges as bicarbonate-rich water in springs.[26]: 8  The waters are used for irrigation,[34]: 66  and there have been discussions about damming rivers.[34]
: 69 

Archeology and religious importance

A partially collapsed

Discovery TV, Andes: Life in the Sky.[1]
: 231 

A mummy was found in 1964

grave robbing, and scientific findings were initially not published out of fear that they would draw more robbers.[43]

Together with Chachani and Misti, Pichu Pichu was viewed as the protector of Arequipa. It was an

Wari empire thus established control over the mountains;[44]: 456–457  Pichu Pichu is visible from the important Wari site Cerro Baul,[44]: 461  and its highest summit is recognizable from the Churajón site.[24]: 171  The mountain veneration continues to this day.[44]: 464  Supposedly, it prefers expensive drinks.[46]
: 344 

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-950446-37-7. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  2. ^
    S2CID 234489075. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-17. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  3. doi:10.1179/nam.1960.8.4.197
    .
  4. JSTOR 1789016. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  5. ISSN 0717-2257. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Nevado Pichu Pichu". Inventario Turístico del Perú (in Spanish). MINCETUR. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. ^
    S2CID 225209264. Archived
    from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Linares Málaga, Eloy (1966). "Restos arqueológicos en el Nevado Pichu Pichu: (Arequipa, Perú)". Anales de Arqueología y Etnología (in Spanish). 21: 7–48. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  9. ^
    S2CID 130955888 – via Academia.edu
    .
  10. ^
    ISSN 0705-7199
    .
  11. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2006.02.014
    .
  12. ^
    doi:10.1016/S0895-9811(00)00062-6
    .
  13. JSTOR 210184. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  14. ^
    S2CID 140637499
    .
  15. ^
    S2CID 133940458
    .
  16. ^ Johnson, George R.; Platt, Raye Roberts (1930). Peru from the Air (Report). AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.
  17. ^
    S2CID 246449090. Archived
    from the original on 2022-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  18. ^
    hdl:20.500.12544/141. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  19. hdl:20.500.12544/1400. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  20. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2020.104132
    .
  21. ^
    S2CID 128761395
    .
  22. S2CID 224928756
    .
  23. ^
    hdl:20.500.12544/3945. Archived
    from the original on 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  24. ^ a b c d e f Zavala, B.; Núñez, S.; Gómez, H.; Pari, W.; Peña, F.; Carpio, J. (2022). Estudio geoambiental de la cuenca del río Quilca-Vítor- Chili (Report) (in Spanish). INGEMMET. Archived from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  25. doi:10.2343/geochemj.18.217. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  26. ^
    hdl:20.500.12544/1424. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  27. ^ Geológico, Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico Dirección de Geología Ambiental y Riesgo (June 2019). "Informe sobre la existencia de fallas geológicas activas en el distrito de Selva Alegre, provincia y región de Arequipa". Instituto Geológico, Minero y Metalúrgico – INGEMMET. Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  28. ^
    Bibcode:2009EGUGA..11.8014P
    .
  29. ^
    ISSN 0016-7606
    .
  30. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1959)70[1327:SSOCCA]2.0.CO;2. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  31. ISSN 0370-0461
    .
  32. ^
    ISBN 978-612-4043-09-3
    .
  33. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4773-1392-3
    .
  34. ^
    doi:10.1016/j.pce.2011.06.008
    .
  35. ISSN 0717-7356. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  36. ISBN 978-1-933056-70-8
    .
  37. JSTOR 44430772. Archived
    from the original on 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  38. S2CID 239539627. Archived
    from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  39. ^
    ISSN 2292-1141. Archived
    from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  40. S2CID 166205963. Archived
    from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  41. PMID 23898165
    .
  42. doi:10.1017/laq.2020.78
    .
  43. ^
    ISSN 0717-7356
    .
  44. ^
    S2CID 10340115. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
  45. ISSN 2708-8960. Archived
    from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
  46. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9655.2011.01683.x
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pichu_Pichu&oldid=1220897571"