Nevado Mismi

Mismi
The Amazon originates from a cliff at the Mismi, with a sole sign of a wooden cross.
Highest point
Elevation	5,597 m (18,363 ft)
Coordinates	15°31′31″S 71°41′27″W / 15.52528°S 71.69083°W / -15.52528; -71.69083Coordinates: 15°31′31″S 71°41′27″W / 15.52528°S 71.69083°W / -15.52528; -71.69083
Geography
Mismi Peru
Location	Arequipa Region, Peru
Parent range	Andes, Ch'ila mountain range
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano

Mismi is a 5,597-metre (18,363 ft) mountain peak of volcanic origin located in the Ch'ila mountain range in the Andes of Peru. A glacial stream on the Mismi was firmly identified as the most distant source of the Amazon River in 1996; this finding was confirmed in 2001 and again in 2007. The waters from Mismi flow into the streams Qarwasanta and Apachita, which flow into the Apurímac River. It is a tributary of the Ucayali which later joins the Marañón to form the Amazon proper.

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. There are several glaciers on the peak.

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 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 discovered the true source of the Amazon before anyone else. This has since been confirmed by satellite.