The appearance of the colors of the mountain of Colores Palcoyo comes from a geological history of marine, lake and river sediments dating from the Tertiary and Quaternary periods of more than 65 million years ago and that these formed layers or strips that due to the movement of tectonic plates that raised the sediments to the top of the mountain as reported by the direction of Culture Cusco.
According to the Peruvian Geological Society, the colors of the mountain are due to the oxidation of its minerals by the humidity present in the area, detailing its composition as follows.
- The pink or fuchsia color: is the mixture of red clay, mudstones and sand.
- The purple or lavender color: composed of marl (clay and calcium carbonate) and silicates.
- White color: quartz and limestone sand.
- The red color: composed of argillites and clays.
- Green color: clays composed of magnesian and copper oxide.
- Yellow color: composed of limonites, sulfide minerals combined with sulfur.
