Hualca Hualca

Hualca Hualca is a 6,025-metre-high (19,767 ft) extinct volcano in the Andes of southern Peru. It is part of the Peruvian segment of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of several volcanic belts in the Andes. It lies about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest of Arequipa and is part of a north–south chain that includes the volcanoes Ampato and Sabancaya, the latter of which has been active historically. The mountain is important to the towns of Cabanaconde and Pinchollo, whose inhabitants viewed it as their source of water and used to carry out religious ceremonies to guarantee continuing water supply.

Hualca Hualca features a wide amphitheatre-like structure on the northern flank, created by a gigantic landslide during the Pleistocene. After the collapse, renewed volcanic activity built a new summit and several lava dome complexes within the collapse scar. After cessation of volcanic activity, glaciers eroded the volcano and formed multiple moraines. The present-day volcano is covered by glaciers, and during the last glacial maximum, glaciers advanced to low altitudes. There are hot springs and geysers north of the mountain, and the magma chambers of Sabancaya are located below Hualca Hualca.