Arequipa is located
in the southwestern part of the country and is the second biggest city of Peru,
with a population of almost one million. It is the largest city in the Peruvian
Andes. It is also the capital of the department of Arequipa, 1,000 kilometres
(620 mi) from Lima. The city sits at an altitude of 2,335 metres
(7,661 ft) above sea level in a mountainous desert in the western Andes,
at the foot of El Misti volcano.
El Misti is currently
inactive, but had strong eruptions
