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The mountain in Peru that is “painted” in the colors of the rainbow

One of the most wonderful geological phenomena in the world, it is found in Peru and it is probably the most colorful mountain on the planet. The reason for the Ausangate mountain of the Peruvian Andes, which stands out for the variety of colors that characterize it, making it one of the most colorful mountains on the planet, with striped colors ranging from turquoise and lavender purple to brown and gold .

The mountain is located at an altitude of 6,384 meters and is located about 100 km southeast of the large city of Cusco, while it is no coincidence that National Geographic has included it among the 100 places to visit in one’s life.

The “painted” mountain Ausangate is also considered sacred and is believed to be the deity of Cusco by the local Peruvians. It is a place of daily worship and offering by the locals, and every year thousands of Quechua pilgrims visit the Mountain for the Star Snow festival that takes place one week before the Corpus Christi celebration.

The reason why the rainbow is observed in the various layers of the mountain is due, to a large extent, according to Forbes, to weather conditions and mineralogy. Its peculiarity is due to the presence of minerals in the subsoil, which were “revealed” by the melting of the ice, caused by the increase in temperature. The red color of the sedimentary layers often indicates iron oxide rust as a trace element. Similar to how a nail will rust and turn red when oxidized, iron-rich sediments will change color when exposed to oxygen and water.

The name of the mountain means “the mountain of the seven colors”, while there are many who call it the “mountain-rainbow” due to the rare multicolor that characterizes it.

However, this “painted mountain” is extremely difficult to find and reach, as it takes several days of hiking to reach the top deep in the Andes via the city of Cusco.

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