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| Origin of Peruvian volcanoes |

The Andean Volcanic Belt, otherwise known as the Andes, runs the length of the West coast of South America from western Venezuela through Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Subduction of the Nazca plate under the South American plate has produced many active and recently active volcanoes.

Nevado Del Ruiz is the northernmost volcanic peak of the Andean Volcanic Belt. Earthquakes are also common occurrences in Peru, as the country is located in a seismic zone. The interface between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates is located near the Peruvian coast. These plates are converging at a rate of 78 mm (3.1 in) per year. Thus, earthquakes occur as thrust faulting on the interface between the two plates, with the South American Plate moving towards the sea over the Nazca Plate. The same process has caused the rise of the Andes mountain range and the creation of the Peru-Chile Trench as well as volcanism in the Peruvian highlands.

They are mostly located in the South of the country. Among the most active ones are the Misti, the Ubinas, the Sabancaya, the Huaynaputina, the Ticsani, the Tutupaca and the Yucamane.

El Misti, also known as Guagua-Putina, is a stratovolcano located in southern Peru near the city of Arequipa. With its seasonally snow-capped, symmetrical cone, El Misti stands at 5,822 m above sea level and lies between the mountain Chachani (6,075 m.a.s.l.) and the volcano Pichu-Pichu (5,669 m.a.s.l.). Its last eruption was in 1784.

Ubinas is an active stratovolcano in southwestern Peru. It is Peru’s most active volcano. The upper slopes of the stratovolcano, composed primarily of Pleistocene andesitic lava flows, steepen to nearly 45 degrees. The steep-walled, 1.4 km wide and 150 m deep summit caldera contains an ash cone with a 500-m-wide funnel-shaped vent that is 200 m deep.