This department has a rough topography, which is characterised by heavy layers ofvolcaniclava covering large areas of its inter-Andean sector. It has deep canyons such as the ones formed by theOcoña and Majes rivers.Plateaus range in height from medium, such as La Joya, and high-altitude ones such the Arrieros Pampa and those located in the zones of Chivay, Huambo and Pichucolla. Volcanic cones, such asMisti,Chachani,Ampato,Mismi,Solimana andCoropuna, emerge above the plateaus and attract snowfall. In contrast with these heights, there are deepcanyons, including Majes,Colca, Sihuas and Ocoña, where important aspects of theecological evolution of this zone can be clearly observed.
Along the coast, small plateaus anddunes represent characteristics of the desert of Arequipa, such as the ones located in the Majes, Sihuas and La Joya plains. These are particularly beautiful and developed.
From ahydrographic point of view, the rivers draining its territory belong mainly to the Pacific watershed. Some rivers belong to theAmazon hydrographic system. Some of the region's main rivers are: Ocoña, Yauca, Camaná and Quilca. The starting point of theAmazon River is located in the Arequipa region.[citation needed]
An Andean condor soars over the Colca Canyon.Beaches of La Punta de Bombon
The region is divided into eightprovinces (provincias, singular:provincia), which are composed of 109districts (distritos, singular:distrito). The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are:
According to the2007 Peru Census, the first language learned by most of the residents wasSpanish (83.17%), followed by the native language ofQuechua (14.78%). The Quechua variety spoken in Arequipa isCusco–Collao Quechua.
The following table shows the first languages by province in the Arequipa Region by province:[1]
There are numerous points of interest in the Arequipa region. The three coastal provinces, Caraveli, Camana and Islay all have popular beaches. Various ports can also be found along the coastline, the two most important beingMollendo andMatarani, both in the province of Islay.
TheColca Canyon, twice as deep as theGrand Canyon in the United States, is situated in the province of Caylloma. TheCotahuasi Canyon is in the La Union Province. Colca Valley provides incredible close-up views of majesticAndeancondors soaring in their naturalhabitat. Cotahuasi, at 3,535 metres (11,598 ft), is thought to be the deepest canyon in the world. Both canyons offer spectacular scenery and villages as yet unaffected by the modern world.
In the Castilla Province near Corire,Toro Muerto (meaning "dead bull" in Spanish) is an area with more than 3,000 ancientpetroglyphs dating to the ancientWari culture of 500–1000 CE, which dominated much of this region. Further to the north near Andaguas lies the Valley of Volcanoes. Almost 100 cones of various sizes dominate the lava-hardened landscape.
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