Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
Nevado Mismi was most likely a conical hill or mountain built around a vent that connects with reservoirs of molten rock below the surface of the Earth. Mismi is a 5,597-metre (18,363 ft) mountain peak of volcanic origin in the Chila mountain range in the Andes of Peru.
See the fact file below for more information on the Nevado Mismi or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Nevado Mismi worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
DESCRIPTION
- A glacial stream on the Mismi was firmly identified as the most distant source of the Amazon River in 1996 by scientific expeditions. This finding was confirmed in 2001 and again in 2007.
- The waters from Nevado Mismi flows into the Quebrada Carhuasanta and Apacheta, which flow into the Río Apurímac which is a tributary of the Ucayali which later joins the Marañon to form the Amazon proper.
- Nevado Mismi is about 160 km west of Lake Titicaca and 700 km southeast of Peru’s capital city, Lima, in the Arequipa Region. It is one of the highest points of Colca Canyon.
COUSTEAU AMAZON EXPEDITIONS
- In 1982, Jean Michel Cousteau 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 studies and information to last years and gave insights into the biology and geology of the largest river system on earth.
- Traditionally, explorers and geographers define the origin of a river system by tracking the longest tributaries while heading upstream, as the 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. Using an international team of twelve and bringing in expeditionary specialists from Germany, France, Argentina, Peru, and the USA, 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-axle reticulated Land Rover for use on land, a float plane Papagaio for air support and reconnaissance, and the Peruvian Air Force offered a high elevation helicopter to reach the upper levels of the Cordillera de Chile Mountain range in Peru.
- Expedition support bases were established in Cusco, in the mountains, in Arequipa near of the Pacific coast, and high in the Cordillera de Chila at Caylloma for the quest to find the origin of the Amazon River.
- Many locations were remote, making it necessary to surmount language, terrain, and logistical difficulties, as the mountain team made their way up the Río Selinke to the flanks of Nevado Mismi. At this mountain’s base, Jean Michael dispatched a team of German alpinists who climbed the 18,000 foot 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 down to flow between stones and continued 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.
GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY EXPEDITION
- In 2001, it was verified that the main headwater of the Amazon River has its glacial source on Nevado Mismi.
- An expedition of the National Geographic Society discovered that Carhuasanta stream flowing into Río Apurímac originates on the mountain’s northern slopes and then runs its course through other tributaries and rivers to help form the main Amazon River.
- The fact that the headwaters of Río Apurímac are the source of the Amazon River was confirmed by Brazilian scientists in 2007, who pointed at Quebrada Apacheta as the most probable source of the Amazon.
AMAZON RIVER
- The mighty Amazon River runs over 4,000 miles from the Peruvian Andes through Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. A historical definition of the “source” of a river is the point at which water must flow the greatest distance to flow into the river. However, finding the ultimate “source” of a great river can be problematic.
- The most distant sources of the River lie in southern Peru. The Rio Lloqueta, a small river in the Andes Mountains, is located about 130 kilometers north of the city of Arequipa in southern Peru.
- The five main tributaries of the Lloqueta—named Carhuasanta, Sillanque, Apacheta, Calomarco, and Ccaccansa—reach almost to the summits of the continental divide. The peaks include Nevado Mismi Mountain. Land use in the Rio Lloqueta basin is seasonal and limited to grazing alpacas and llamas.
Nevado Mismi Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Nevado Mismi across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Nevado Mismi worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Nevado Mismi which was most likely a conical hill or mountain built around a vent that connects with reservoirs of molten rock below the surface of the Earth. Mismi is a 5,597-metre (18,363 ft) mountain peak of volcanic origin in the Chila mountain range in the Andes of Peru.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Nevado Mismi in Peru Facts
- Give Me Five!
- Look Back
- Nevado Trademark
- Word Scramble
- Dream Nevado
- Featuring Nevado
- Complete Me
- Nevado Puzzle
- What News?
- Fun Facts
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as Nevado Mismi Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 25, 2019
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.