Ampato

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Nevado Ampato
Aerial view of Nevado Ampato (back) from the northeast, with the active Volcan Sabancaya in front.
Elevation	6,288 m (20,630 ft)
Location	Southern Peru
Range	Andes
Prominence	1,997 m (6,552 ft)
Coordinates	15°49′S, 71°53′W
Type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	Unknown
First ascent	Inca, pre-Columbian
Easiest route	snow / glacier climb

Ampato is a dormant 6,288 m (20,630 ft) stratovolcano in the Andes of southern Peru, about 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Arequipa. It is part of a 20 km (12 mi) north-south chain of three major stratovolcanoes, including the extinct and eroded 6,025 m (19,767 ft) Nevado Hualca Hualca at the northern end and the active 5,976 m (19,606 ft) cone of Volcán Sabancaya in the middle.

In September 1995, the rapidly retreating glacier near the summit of Ampato revealed the frozen mummified body of an Inca girl, killed by a blow to the head about 500 years ago. The mummy, later called the "Ice Maiden" and nicknamed "Juanita", was recovered by an expedition led by American archaeologist Dr. Johan Reinhard. In October 1995 and December 1997, Reinhard and Peruvian archaeologist Jose Antonio Chavez directed expeditions that led to the recovery of three further mummies above 5,800 m (19,000 ft).

[edit] References

Reinhard, Johan The Ice Maiden: Inca Mummies, Mountain Gods, and Sacred Sites in the Andes. 2005, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program: Sabancaya (and Ampato)
Biggar, John (2005). The Andes: A Guide for Climbers (3rd ed.). Andes Publishing (Scotland), 304 pp. ISBN 0-9536087-2-7.
González-Ferrán, Oscar (1995). Volcanes de Chile. Santiago, Chile: Instituto Geográfico Militar, 640 pp. ISBN 956-202-054-1. (in Spanish; also includes volcanoes of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru)
De Silva, Shanaka L.; Francis, Peter (1991). Volcanoes of the Central Andes. Springer-Verlag, 216 pp. ISBN 3540537066.