An offshore earthquake with a reported magnitude of 7.0 has shaken much of Peru but only minor damage has been reported.
The quake broke windows and opened fissures in the walls of some adobe dwellings in the nearest sizeable town, Acari, its mayor Carlos Mejia told the TV station Canal N
He reported no injuries in the mining town of about 4000 residents.
Meanwhile, sand shaken loose by the quake partially blocked a 2km section of the Panamerican Highway, the highway patrol in the nearby town of Chala said.
The quake was felt mildly in Lima, about 500km away, and caused swaying in Arequipa, about 300km away.
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A tsunami warning was not issued.
"Most people felt it, not everyone," said Jose Vasquez, deputy director of civil defence in Arequipa.
"It lasted a little bit. It wasn't a big shake, just a release, like the movement of a hammock."
The quake's epicenter was 46km south of Acari, at a depth of 46km, and it hit at 11.42am local time, the US Geological Survey said.
