The Colca Canyon is an amazing geological formation created by erosion from the Colca River over thousands of years in which the abrasive effect of the water that flows through the mountains carved the rock and gradually turned into one of the deepest (4,160m) natural canyons on the planet.
Peru is especially characterized by the presence of the Volcanic chain of the Western Mountain Range of the Andes which are made up by a spectacular views of the combination of impressive mountains and volcanoes such as Hualca Hualca, Ampato, and Sabancaya (still active), that reach over 6,000 m in heights, making the Colca Canyon part of it.
Ampato is known to be the final resting place of an Inca mummy, surprisingly conserved. Ampato means 'frog' in Quechua, the language of the Andean people, referring to the characteristic form of the Volcano seen from the surrounding areas. The ancient inhabitants worshiped this mountain with offerings because they considered it a divine spirit living in the form of the Volcano together with the Mountain Chain in which the Volcano rested. The spirits of the mountains helped them to improve their agricultural techniques and farm animal production.
The Canyon is located on the right side of the Chila Mountain Range formed by the glaciers Bomboya, Serpregina, Mismi, Queshihua, and on the other side by the Volcanoes that are part of the Ampato Mountain Range, in the North Eastern side of Arequipa, Peru, about 4 hours North of the city of Arequipa. At a distance you are able to observe two high mountains accompanying the deepest Canyon in the planet, the Coropuna (6,305m), the highest peak in Arequipa, and the Solimana (6,323 m).
The Coca Canyon reaches depths of 4,160 m in the region of Canco of the district of Huambo on the North side and 3,600 m on the South side. It is more than 120 km long.
Canco is a small Valley that is located between the crosses of the Colca and Huambo Rivers. Due to its high location (1820m) the weather is nice and a variety of subtropical fruits and crops grow there. Also you can see several condors flying around this area.
The Colca Valley that goes by the same name as the canyon is a colorful Andean valley with pre-Inca roots, still inhabited by people of the Collagua and the Cabana cultures, who moved to the area from the Lake Titicaca region. They maintain their ancestral traditions and continue to cultivate the pre-Inca stepped terraces. The Valley begins in the surroundings of Chivay, the main town of the area, continuing in a North West direction for more than 60 km towards the area known as the Condor Cross (la Cruz del Condor) in the Town of Cabana-Conde.
The Colca River originates in the Andes, in the high Condor-Ama Cruise and descends to the Town of Chivay located at 3,600m above sea level and it is the location where the Canyon starts. Then it pass through the Old River Town of Maca. From this point the flow of the River increases dramatically and spills into the depth of the Valley reaching a greater depth at the Condor Cross (la Cruz del Condor) viewpoint in the town of Cabana-Conde. It then flows down about 40 km and converges with the River Anda-Mayo, marking the end of the Canyon and the beginning of the Majes Valley and before flowing into the Pacific Ocean it becomes the Camana River. Thus the Colca River change its name as it passess through these different territories, Colca, in the hills; Majes, in the middle; and Camana, in the coastal desert.
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