Cotahuasi Canyon (from Quechua Kutawasi), near the city of

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara and qu, Ariqipa) is a city and capital of province and the eponymous department of Peru. It is the seat of the Constitutional Court of Peru and often dubbed the "legal capital of Peru". It is the second most populated city ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, is one of the deepest canyons in the world. With a depth of approximately , as defined as the difference in elevation at river level and the peak of a mountain alongside the canyon, it is more than twice as deep as the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

. The Cotahuasi River eroded the canyon between two mountain massifs: the

Coropuna Coropuna is a dormant compound volcano located in the Andes mountains of southeast-central Peru. The upper reaches of Coropuna consist of several perennially snowbound conical summits, lending it the name Nevado Coropuna in Spanish. The compl ...

( ) and the Solimana ( ). It extends from spurs of the snow-covered Solimana to the confluence with the

Ocoña River The Ocoña River ( es, Río Ocoña) is a river located in the Arequipa region in southern Peru. It helped form Peru's deep canyon walls. See also *List of rivers of Peru *List of rivers of the Americas by coastline This list of rivers of th ...

near the village of . The Cotahuasi River's source is Lake Wansuqucha, at more than above sea level. It receives the tributaries of the Wayllapaña River in the neighborhood of Pampamarka, to the north, and the Huarcaya near Tumipampa, to the west, and is later joined by the Maran River to form the

, which ends at the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Location

Cotahuasi is located at the highest Andean point of Arequipa, in the south of Peru : UTM 683,370 & 790,415 East & 8’275,582 & 8’380,125 North. Between 14°40´22" & 15°35´27" south latitude, 72°19´15" & 73°18´08" west longitude. This province is characterized by its steep relief: incised by rivers and gullies, ranging between 1,000 and 6,093 metres, with 19 ecological zones. As is the case with cultures all over the world, the people of highland Arequipa Province are also changing with the times. Nonetheless, the altitude and remoteness of this region mean that residents have retained many of the practices that are now no longer common in neighboring regions.

Access

The only road leading to the canyon goes through Chuquibamba in the Condesuyos province, then Aplao in Castilla Province. It begins on the

Panamerican Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

near Arequipa. Four bus companies start daily from the Arequipa bus terminal, between 4 and 6 pm. The bus drive is 10–12 hours long, on a road which is unpaved after Chuquibamba. It also goes quite high, through a 4500m pass between Coropuna and Solimana.

Protected area

The Cotahuasi Subbasin is a landscape park set up by a 2005 decree. It covers . This natural reserve preserves an integrated environment where man and nature are living in close harmony, in a preserved cultural microcosm. The difficult topographic conditions have generated specific landscapes like agricultural terraces.

Agriculture

Organic agriculture includes many plants in the reserve :

kiwicha ''Amaranthus caudatus'' (also known as ''Amaranthus edulis'' and ''Amaranthus mantegazzianus'') is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail a ...

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and ...

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...

, dark maize, llacon,

fava ''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Varieti ...

oca OCA or Oca may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * The ancient town and bishopric Oca in Asia Minor (present Asia Turkey), now a Latin Catholic titular see * The former Spanish Oca, modern Villafranca Montes de Oca, also see of a medieval bis ...

, beans, arveja (

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

), chulpi maize,

anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

tarwi ''Lupinus mutabilis'' is a species of lupin grown in the Andes, mainly for its edible bean. Vernacular names include tarwi (in Quechua II, pronounced ''tarhui''), chocho, altramuz, Andean lupin, South American lupin, Peruvian field lupin, and pe ...

. These products are meant to give priority to food supplies to the province. Therefore, very little is produced for export. Food autonomy is reached thanks to ecological techniques, rational use of water, promotion of improved seeds, conservation of biodiversity, strengthening of producer associations, and complementary livestock breeding.

Tourism

The Cotahuasi landscape reserve is a preserved area. The landscapes have a large biodiversity including many endemic medicinal plants : muña, retama, tara, coca, jara ( malva sylvestris), ruda (

ruta graveolens ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of '' Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its blui ...

, yareta (

azorella compacta __NOTOC__ Yareta or llareta (''Azorella compacta'', known historically as ''Azorella yareta'', from ''yarita'' in the Quechua language) is a velvety, chartreuse cushion plant in the family Apiaceae which is native to South America. It grows in th ...

). The landscapes are quite many, from the rivers at the bottom of the canyon to the cold desert areas of the summits. There are 12 different ecosystems in Cotahuasi reserve. There are also a number of Inca and pre-Inca works including the many agricultural terraces still in use today. The region is also rich with culture and traditions, preserved by ancient Andean people : weaving, colonial churches, Inca tracks, numerous festivals.

References

External links

La Union provinceCotahuasi portalHuaynacotas village
* ttp://www.oregonkayaking.net/rivers/cotahuasi/cotahuasi.html Rio Cotahuasi - Robert Bartbr>Rio Cotahuasi River Write Up - Kurt Casey

www.aedes.com.pe / Images of plants in the Cotahuasi Subbasin Landscape Reserve
(Spanish) {{Natural and Cultural Peruvian Heritage Landforms of Arequipa Region Protected areas established in 2005 Landscape reserves of Peru Canyons and gorges of Peru Tourist attractions in Arequipa Region qu:Kutawasi qhichwa risirwa