Colca canyon and Andagua volcanoes valley, first geopark proposal in Peru

Abstract

Colca Valley has placed Arequipa as an important tourist destination in Peru. The frequency of visitors tripled in the last 11 years, receiving more than 180,000 visitors annually. Highlight its volcanic landscapes with stratovolcanoes and volcanic complex, thermal water, glaciers, lakes, geological faults, pre-Hispanic and colonial remains and their biodiversity, exposed around of one of the largest and deepest canyons on the planet: Colca Canyon. Adjacent to the canyon, converge a valley with monogenetic volcanic cones (ash or asymmetric) Pliocene-Quaternary, fields and diachronic lava flows, that occupy valleys forming lava dams, lakes and hills too, known as Andagua volcanoes valley; similar examples are seen in Huambo-Gloriahuasi; in Molloco river, Tuti Coporaque and Cabanaconde-Huambo. A geological record with Precambrian rocks to the present, with lithological, stratigraphics, tectono structural, paleogeographics, paleontologicals and geomorphologicals characteristics represent an important geo-diversity, highlighting episodes of useful scientific interest for didactic teaching and development of geotourism, also considering as "a geology open book". Complement and enrich this geopark, the pre-Inca and Inca ancestral presence, manifested in the legacy of archaeological remains (chullpas, terraces and citadels) on this rugged territory; mining evidence (silver and gold), which becomes from colonial times; cultural-religious manifestations and ancestral traditions of a living culture inherited from their ancestors (clothing, agriculture, etc.) and intangible cultural heritage as well as an important biodiversity of flora and fauna, where highlight the condor, iconic bird of the Andes. The Geological Mining and Metallurgical Institute (INGEMMET), national geological survey, as part of its functions to generate information about geodiversity and geo-heritage of this territory, in synergy with regional and local political authorities, are proposing their nomination to UNESCO as a future geopark.