It lies east of the city Arequipa and together with its neighbours Misti and Chachani is part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes.

During the last two million years, a gigantic landslide descended the western side of the volcano and left a large scar that runs north to south.

Presently, the mountain is covered with snow only during the summer months, when the monsoon brings precipitation from the Amazon; the last permanent ice disappeared during the last decades.

[1]: 233 [2]: 3  Another etymology relates it to picu, "wooly tuft", reflecting the appearance of the debris pile surrounding the mountain.

[10]: 1594 [11]: 223  Together with its neighbours Chachani and Misti, it is part of the Cordillera Occidental[12]: 254  at the edge of the Altiplano,[13]: 15  and rises abruptly from the surrounding terrain.

[6] The highest point (Coronado) has an altitude of 5,664 metres (18,583 ft) above sea level[6][2]: 3  and a summit cross was placed on it before 1966.

[16]: 118  One of the summits is known as La Horquetilla or Cerro de las Virgenes;[9]: 8  in 1966 it was thought to be 5,664 metres (18,583 ft) high.

[9]: 12  Four volcanic craters have been recognized and are heavily eroded[15]: 446  The upper flanks of the volcano are very steep and hard to access on the eastern and western side.

[12]: 254  Five distinct lobes of the landslide[16]: 120  descended side-by side;[16]: 118  they were highly mobile,[21]: 2  running for a length of 28 kilometres (17 mi)[16]: 117  over the Arequipa basin and burying older ignimbrites.

[12]: 254  The landslide generated the hilly "Arequipa landslide deposit",[22]: 602  which covers an area of 100–200 square kilometres (39–77 sq mi) with 10–20 cubic kilometres (2.4–4.8 cu mi) of rock,[16]: 120 [21]: 16  consisting of several formations: A northern debris avalanche, a central deposit formed by concentrated flows and a southern lobe formed by lava blocks.

[24]: 22 It is not clear when the landslide occurred, but the ages of the underlying and overlying rocks constrain it to between 2.42 million and 34,000 years ago.

[21]: 2  It is formed by andesitic lava flows and pyroclastics[9]: 13  that contain phenocrysts of augite, hornblende, hypersthene and olivine.

[29] This glaciation has left recognizable traces on the mountains including cirques, glacial troughs, hanging valleys, moraines[30]: 914  and mudflows.

[25]: 32  Presently, frost shattering takes place, caused by the large day-night temperature differences,[6] and there are rock glaciers within cirques.

[29] The climate of the region is relatively dry, with most precipitation falling during the summer months when the monsoon brings moisture from the Amazon.

[35]: 65  The Andamayo and Mollebaya eventually join to form the Vitor and Siguas river and flow to the Pacific Ocean.

[18]: 485  Rainwater easily penetrates the heavily fractured rocks[27]: 9  and re-emerges as bicarbonate-rich water in springs.

[1]: 96  The Incas built a zig-zagging[36] trail on to the mountain,[1]: 94  which on the northeastern flank includes a staircase cut into rocks[9]: 16  that crosses a steep slope at over 5,300 metres (17,400 ft) above sea level.

[37] A tambo (waystation) at 4,600 metres (15,100 ft) elevation[2]: 3  lies on the northeastern foot, along with a ceremonial platform[9]: 11  covered by ash from Huaynaputina's 1600 eruption.

[9]: 8  Initial expeditions did not find archaeological evidence, and the existence of the sites was debated in the regional media.

[41] The mummies were capacochas, Inca human sacrifices,[42]: 1  and had received blows to the head before burial; they may have resisted being sacrificed.

[44] The mummies had first been discovered in the course of grave robbing, and scientific findings were initially not published out of fear that they would draw more robbers.