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.
Geography and geomorphology Hualca Hualca is in the Caylloma Province of southern Peru, 70 kilometres (43 mi) northwest from Arequipa. Directly north of the volcano is the Colca Valley, an important tourism destination and agricultural area which has been settled since before Inca times. The towns of Cabanaconde and Pinchollo lie at the northern foot of Hualca Hualca; other settlements in the area are Madrigal, Lari, Maca, Achoma and Ichupampa. Several roads run around the volcano; one goes to the Hornillo viewpoint on the northeastern flank. Canals and dams collect water flowing from the mountain and convey it to fields at Cabanaconde and west of Sabancaya volcano. Other infrastructure on the mountain consists of homesteads mainly on its western flank and equipment of Peru's volcano monitoring service. Hualca Hualca can be climbed in a few days from Pinchollo by the north side, and is not considered challenging from a mountaineering perspective. Hualca Hualca is a heavily eroded stratovolcano. A 14-kilometre-wide (8.7 mi) ragged semicircular ridge surrounds a 1,600-metre-deep (5,200 ft) amphitheatre with 700–1,000-metre-high (2,300–3,300 ft) cliffs; the 6,025-metre-high (19,767 ft) summit is on the southeastern part of the ridge. The amphitheatre opens north to the Colca Valley at an elevation of about 3,500 metres (11,500 ft). The scar was formed by a gigantic landslide that removed a volume of about 1.3 cubic kilometres (0.31 cu mi) from the edifice. Within the scar are several volcanic structures consisting of lava domes and lava flows, including 5,310-metre-high (17,420 ft) Nevado de Puye close to the summit, 5,190-metre-high (17,030 ft) Cerro Ahuashune farther west, and a 4,400-metre-high (14,400 ft) volcanic structure with the "Mirador Cruz del Condor" viewpoint to the north. Between Ahuashune and Mirador Cruz del Condor is a lake, and there are cold water springs. Valleys, such as the Huayuray valley due north of the summit and the Hualca-Hualca at the western margin of the amphitheatre, run through the amphitheatre heading north; they are used as irrigation water sources. The mountain towers above the Colca Valley with irregular slopes. Elsewhere around the perimeter of Hualca Hualca, it and its neighbours rise about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) above the Altiplano highland. Valleys on its outer slopes include the Mollebaya to the east, Pujro Huayjo to the southwest and Mucurca to the west. Moraines and glacial sediments cover the western slopes of Hualca Hualca, while lava flows of Sabancaya onlap the southern slopes. The edifice is 25 kilometres (16 mi) wide. Surfaces on the volcano are frequently covered by debris and moraine rocks, and Sabancaya has deposited tephra on the land south of Hualca Hualca. At the western foot of Hualca Hualca is Laguna Mucurca.
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