Misti is a volcano in the southern Peruvian Andes, rising above Arequipa, Peru’s second-largest city. It has a steep conical profile and two nested summit craters. The inner crater contains an active lava plug or dome, pierced by vents that emit volcanic gases. The summit reaches 5822 m above sea level, on the rim of the outer crater. Snow covers the summit but does not persist, and there are no glaciers. The upper slopes are largely barren, while lower elevations support scrub and other bushy vegetation. The volcano grew in four stages. Each stage built the mountain with lava flows and domes, then ended with a summit collapse that formed a bowl-shaped depression. Misti forms a local volcanic group with Chachani to the northwest and Pichu Pichu to the southeast, built on debris from older volcanoes. Over the past 50,000 years, numerous intense explosive eruptions have covered the surrounding terrain with tephra (rocks fragmented by volcanic eruptions). The last two significant eruptions were 2,000 years ago and in 1440–1470 AD; since then, periods of increased gas release have sometimes been mistaken for eruptions Misti is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, as it lies only 12 km from Arequipa. The city's population exceeds one million people and its northeastern suburbs have expanded onto the slopes of the volcano. Narrow valleys on its western and southern flanks pose particular threats, as mudflows and fast-moving flows of hot volcanic debris could be channelled into the urban area and into important infrastructure, like hydropower plants. Even moderate eruptions can deposit volcanic ash and tephra over most of the city. Until 2005, there was little awareness or monitoring of the volcano. Since then, the Peruvian Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET) has established a volcano observatory in Arequipa, runs public-awareness campaigns, and has published hazard maps. The Inca viewed the volcano as a threat and during the 1440–1470 eruption offered human sacrifices (capacocha) on Misti and neighbouring mountains to placate the volcano; the mummies on Misti form the largest known Inca human sacrifice.
Name and settlement history The name "Misti" may derive from either Quechuan or Spanish. It means 'mixed', 'mestizo' or 'white' and may refer to the volcano's snow cover. Indigenous names include Putina, meaning 'mountain that growls' in the Puquina language, while the Aymara language terms for Misti are Anukara or Anuqara ('dog'). All three names refer to the dog-like appearance of the volcano when viewed from the Andean Plateau, known as the Altiplano. Earlier sources referred to the volcano as Putina; the name ‘Misti’ appears from the 1780s onward. Other names for the volcano are Guagua-Putina, El Volcán ('the volcano'), San Francisco, and Volcán de Arequipa ('Arequipa volcano'). Some Spanish chroniclers have confused it with other volcanoes like Ubinas and Huaynaputina. Settlement in the region began over 1,500 years ago, most likely during the time period named "Middle Horizon".). It is unclear whether the Inca were the first Altiplano civilizations to influence the region or whether previous cultures played a role. By the arrival of the Spanish, the area was densely populated, and there were canals, roads and buildings where the city of Arequipa is today. The city was founded on 15 August 1540. Misti is the hausberg (house mountain) of Arequipa and features on its seal; the residents view themselves as the offspring of the mountain.
Human geography Misti is often described as Peru’s best-known volcano and rises just north of Arequipa, being visible from the Pacific Ocean. Historically the area formed part of the Inca Empire’s Condesuyos province; today it lies in the Arequipa Department. Dirt roads heading from Arequipa to Chivay run along the northern and western foot of Misti, and those to Juliaca along the southern and eastern foot. Inca roads from the Arequipa area passed by the volcano. There are numerous dams on the Rio Chili: North of the volcano are Aguada Blanca and El Frayle, while Hidroeléctrica Charcani I, II, III, IV, V and VI are along the northwestern foot of Misti; their hydroelectric power plants provide electricity to Arequipa. In 1925, the Italian geographer Gustavo Cumin reported that three small man‑made structures in the crater had been known since 1677, although their origin was unclear. Inca ceremonial platforms on the summit associated with human sacrifices were probably destroyed by human activity around 1900. In 1893, professor Solon Irving Bailey from the Harvard College Observatory installed what was then the world’s highest weather station on Misti. The site was chosen for its clear, calm atmosphere and became the highest continuously inhabited location on Earth for a time. The station was one of several stations built at the time to investigate the atmosphere at such high altitudes; it was also used for research on the response of the human body to high altitudes. A second station ("Mt. Blanc Station") was built after 1888, at the volcano’s base; both closed in 1901 when Harvard consolidated operations in Arequipa. Storms have since erased any trace of the summit observatory. Observations of physical phenomena, such as cosmic‑ray measurements, were carried out sporadically on Misti during the 20th century.
Geography and geomorphology
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