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Mismi is a mountain peak of
volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...
origin in the
Chila mountain range The Chila mountain range lies in the Arequipa Region in the Andes of Peru. It extends between 15°02' and 15°26'S and 71°43' and 72°37'W for about 80 km. The range is located in the provinces of Castilla and Caylloma. Mountains The hi ...
in the
Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
of
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. A glacial stream on the Mismi was identified as the most distant source of the Amazon River in 1996; this finding was confirmed in 2001 and again in 2007. This claim has been challenged with three locations for the source of the Amazon identified, depending upon the definition of "source." The waters from Mismi flow into the streams Carhuasanta and Apachita, which flow into the
Apurímac River The Apurímac River ( ; , ; from Quechua ''apu'' 'chief' and ''rimaq'' 'the one who speaks, oracle', thus 'the chief oracle') rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of the Mismi, a mountain in the Arequipa Province in the south-western mo ...
. It is a tributary of the
Ucayali The Ucayali River (, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city of Pucallpa is lo ...
which later joins the Marañón to form the Amazon proper.


Location

Mismi is about west of
Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; ; ) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. Titicaca is the largest lake in South America, both in terms of the volume of ...
and southeast of Peru's capital city,
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
, in the
Arequipa Region Arequipa () is a department and region in southwestern Peru. It is the sixth largest department in Peru, after Puno, Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto, its sixth most populous department, and its eleventh least densely populated dep ...
. It is one of the highest points of
Colca Canyon The Colca Canyon is a canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru, located about northwest of Arequipa. With a depth of about 1000 – 2000 m (3300 – 6600 ft) (whereas bottom is at cca 2000 m and edges are at 3000 – 4000 metres above t ...
. There are several glaciers on the peak.


The Cousteau Amazon Expedition

In 1982
Jean-Michel Cousteau Jean-Michel Cousteau (born 6 May 1938) is a French oceanographic explorer, environmentalist, educator and film producer. The first son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, he is the father of Fabien Cousteau and Céline Cousteau. Life and ca ...
led a large scale scientific exploration of the Amazon from its mouth to its origin. The "Cousteau Amazon Expedition" cost eleven million dollars and culminated in a six-hour television documentary titled "Cousteau's Amazon" released in 1983. It offered study information to last years and gave insights into the biology and geology of the largest river system on earth. This expedition was broken into three separate groups and the upper Amazon section was covered by "The Flying Expedition" tasked with exploring the upper third to Arequipa from the river's origin. Traditionally, explorers and geographers define the origin of a river system by tracking the longest tributaries while heading upstream, as volume can change dramatically from month to month. In a system as complex as the Amazon basin with dozen of streams as candidates in previously poorly mapped areas, no consensus could plausibly be substantiated for some time, and the origin was left to speculation. Half a dozen sites claimed title to "The Origin of the Amazon" and until 1982 several were in the running. But, in 1971,
Loren McIntyre Loren McIntyre (March 24, 1917 – May 11, 2003), was an American photojournalist who worked extensively in South America. His photographs and writing appeared in ''National Geographic'' and hundreds of other periodicals. He has numerous bo ...
discovered the true source of the Amazon before anyone else. This has since been confirmed by satellite. Using an international team of twelve and bringing in expeditionary specialists from Germany, France, Argentina, Peru and the US, Jean-Michel Cousteau put together resources and logistics spanning a thousand miles of unknown jungle. The Upper Amazon expedition (The Flying Expedition) included an Eastern European multi-axled articulated Land Rover for use on land, a float plane Papagaiu, for air support and reconnaissance, and the Peruvian Air Force offered a high elevation helicopter to reach the upper levels of the
Chila mountain range The Chila mountain range lies in the Arequipa Region in the Andes of Peru. It extends between 15°02' and 15°26'S and 71°43' and 72°37'W for about 80 km. The range is located in the provinces of Castilla and Caylloma. Mountains The hi ...
in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
. Expedition support bases were established in
Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...
, in the mountains, in
Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...
, and high in the Chilca mountain range at Caylloma for the quest to find the origin of the Amazon. Many locations were remote, making it necessary to surmount language, terrain and logistical difficulties, as the mountain team made their way up the Selinque River to the flanks of the Mismi. At this mountain's base, Cousteau dispatched a team of German alpinists who climbed the volcano and returned in two days. During their descent, they found melt water dropping into a fissure. This cleft varied from two meters to half a meter wide, angling down the slope. This stream flowed nearly fifty meters before disappearing, emerging again lower downstream to flow between stones and continue its course. They discovered that within the fissure, the water was deep enough to float a small craft, and realized that they were presented with an opportunity. Utilizing pack llamas, kayaker Caril Ridley was brought to the site, and in June 1982, navigating by kayak, became the first person to run the origins of the Amazon. Later expeditions refined the understanding of the river's many origins and its subsequent course to the Atlantic Ocean.


National Geographic Society Expedition

In 2001, it was verified that one of the headwaters of the Amazon River has its glacial source on the Mismi. An expedition of the
National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...
discovered that the Qarwasanta stream flowing into Apurímac River originates on the northern slopes of the mountain and then runs its course through other tributaries and rivers to help form the main Amazon River.
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian scientists in 2007 confirmed that the headwaters of Apurímac River are the source of the Amazon River and pointed to Mismi as the most probable source of the Amazon.


See also

* Carhuasanta, the source of the Amazon *
Cantumayo Cantumayo (possibly from Quechua '' qantu, qantus, qantuta'' a plant ''(Cantua buxifolia)'', ''mayu'' river,) is a river in Peru located in the Arequipa Region, Caylloma Province, Coporaque District.escale.minedu.gob.pe - UGEL map of the Cayllom ...
*
Ripon Falls Ripon Falls at the northern end of Lake Victoria in Uganda was formerly considered the source of the river Nile. In 1862–63 John Hanning Speke was the first European to follow the course of the Nile downstream after discovering the falls that h ...
, considered to be the source of the
Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
river


References

{{Reflist


External links


Landscapes of the Soul
- photos and story of a solo hike to the Source of the Amazon via the continental divide. Upper Amazon Mountains of the Department of Arequipa Five-thousanders of the Andes