Andes
The Andes are the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7000 km (4350 mi) long, 200 km (124 mi) to 700 km (435 mi) wide (widest between 18° to 20°S latitude), and of an average height of about 4000 m (13123 ft).
Over its length the Andean range is at several locations split into several ranges, often two great ranges, named Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Occidental, often separated by a intermediate depression. The Andes mountains extend over seven countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, some of which are known as Andean States.
The Andes mountain range is the highest mountain range outside Asia. The highest peak, Aconcagua, rises to 6962 m (22841 ft) above sea level. The summit of Mount Chimborazo in the Ecuadorean Andes is the point on the Earth's surface most distant from its center, because of the equatorial bulge.
Geography
The Andes can be divided into three sections: the Southern Andes in Argentina and Chile; the Central Andes, including the Chilean and Peruvian cordilleras and parts of Bolivia; and the northern section in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador consisting of two parallel ranges, the Cordillera Occidental and the Cordillera Oriental. In Colombia, north to the border with Ecuador, the Andes split in three parallel ranges, western, central and eastern. (cordillera occidental, central y oriental). The eastern range is the only one that extends to Venezuela. The term cordillera comes from the Spanish word meaning 'rope'. The Andes range is approximately 200 km wide throughout its length, except in the Bolivian flexure where it is 640 km (398 mi) wide. The islands of the Dutch Caribbean Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, which lie in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, represent the submerged peaks of the extreme northern edge of the Andes range.
Geology
The Andes is a Mesozoic-Tertiary orogenic belt of mountains along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone of volcanic activity and orogeny that encompasses the Pacific rim of the Americas as well as the Asia-Pacific region. The Andes are the result of plate tectonics processes, caused by the subduction of oceanic crust beneath the South American plate. The main cause of the rise of the Andes is the compression of western rim of the South American Plate due to the subduction of Nazca Plate and the Antarctic Plate. To the east the Andes is bounded by several sedimentary basins such as Orinoco, Amazon Basin, Madre de Dios and Gran Chaco which separates the Andes from the ancient cratons in eastern South America. In the south the Andes shares a long boundary with the former Patagonia Terrane. To the west the Andes ends at the Pacific Ocean, although the Peru-Chile trench can be considerated its ultimate western limit. From a geographical approach the Andes is considered to have its western boundaries marked by the apparition of coastal low lands and a less abrupt topography.
Orogeny
The western rim of the South American Plate has been the place of several pre-Andean orogenies since at least the Pampean orogeny of late Proterozoic. These early orogenic events led to amalgamation of several terranes and microcontinents onto the South American part of Gondwana.
The formation of the modern Andes began in the Jurassic Period. It was during the Cretaceous Period that the Andes began to take their present form, by the uplifting, faulting and folding of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of the ancient cratons to the east. Tectonic forces along the subduction zone along the entire west coast of South America where the Nazca Plate and a part of the Antarctic Plate are sliding beneath the South American Plate continue to produce an ongoing orogenic event resulting in minor to major earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to this day. In the extreme south a major transform fault separates Tierra del Fuego from the small Scotia Plate. Across the 1000 km (621 mi) wide Drake Passage lie the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula south of the Scotia Plate which appear to be a continuation of the Andes chain.
Volcanism
The Andes range has many active volcanoes, which are distributed in four volcanic zones: Bucaramanga flat-slab segment
The Northern Volcanic Zone (NVZ) that includes the volcanoes of southern Colombia and Ecuador.
Peruvian flat-slab segment
The Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) compromising the volcanoes of southern Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile and Argentina
Pampean flat-slab segment
The Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ), spanning from Central Chile to the Chile Triple Junction
Patagonian Volcanic Gap
The Austral Volcanic Zone (AVZ) begins south of the Chile Triple Junction and is caused by the subduction of the Antarctic Plate
Climate
The climate in the Andes varies greatly depending on location, altitude, and proximity to the sea. The southern section is rainy and cool, the central Andes are dry. The northern Andes are typically rainy and warm, with an average temperature of 18 °C (64 °F) in Colombia. The climate is known to change drastically in rather short distances. Rainforests exist just miles away from the snow covered peak Cotopaxi. The mountains have a large effect on the temperatures of nearby areas. The snow line depends on the location. It is at between 4,500–4,800 m (14,800–15,800 ft) in the tropical Ecuadorian, Colombian, Venezuelan, and northern Peruvian Andes, rising to 4,800–5,200 m (15,800–17,060 ft) in the drier mountains of southern Peru south to northern Chile south to about 30°S, then descending to 4500 m (14764 ft) on Aconcagua at 32°S, 2000 m (6562 ft) at 40°S, 500 m (1640 ft) at 50°S, and only 300 m (984 ft) in Tierra del Fuego at 55°S; from 50°S, several of the larger glaciers descend to sea level.
The Andes of Chile and Argentina can be divided in two climatic and glaciological zones; the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. Since the Dry Andes extends from the latitudes of Atacama Desert to the area of Maule River, precipitation is more sporadical and there are strong temperature oscillations. The line of equilibrium may shift drastically over short periods of time, leaving a whole glacier in the ablation area or in the accumulation area.
Flora
Rainforests used to encircle much of the northern Andes but are now greatly diminished, especially in the Chocó and inter-Andean valleys of Colombia. The small tree Cinchona pubescens, a source of quinine which is used to treat malaria, is found widely in the Andes as far south as Bolivia. Other important crops that originated from the Andes are tobacco and potatoes. The high-altitude Polylepis forests and woodlands are found in the Andean areas of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. These trees, by locals referred to as Queñua, Yagual and other names, can be found at altitudes of 4500 m (14764 ft) above sea level. It remains unclear if the patchy distribution of these forests and woodlands is natural, or the result of clearing which began during the Incan period. Regardless, in modern times the clearance has accelerated, and the trees are now considered to be highly endangered, with some believing that as little as 10% of the original woodland remains.
Fauna
The Andes is rich in fauna and flora. About 30,000 species of vascular plants live in the Andes with roughly half being endemic to the region, surpassing the diversity of any other hotspot. With almost 1,000 species, of which roughly 2/3 are endemic to the region, the Andes is the most important region in the world for amphibians. Animal diversity in the Andes is high, with almost 600 species of mammals (13% endemic), more than 1,700 species of birds (c. 1/3 endemic), more than 600 species of reptiles (c. 45% endemic), and almost 400 species of fishes (c. 1/3 endemic).
The Vicuña and Guanaco can be found living in the Altiplano, while the closely related domesticated Llama and Alpaca are widely kept by locals as pack animals and for their meat and wool. The nocturnal chinchillas, two threatened members of the rodent order, inhabits the Andes' alpine regions. The Andean Condor, the largest bird of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, occurs throughout much of the Andes but generally in very low densities. Other animals found in the relatively open habitats of the high Andes include the huemul, cougar, foxes in the genus Pseudalopex, and, for birds, certain species of Tinamous (notably members of the genus Nothoprocta), Andean Goose, Giant Coot, flamingos (mainly associated with hypersaline lakes), Lesser Rhea, Andean Flicker, Diademed Sandpiper-Plover, miners, sierra-finches and Diuca-finches.
Lake Titicaca hosts several endemics, among them the highly endangered Titicaca Flightless Grebe and Titicaca Water Frog. A few species of hummingbirds, notably some hillstars, can be seen at altitudes above 4000 m (13123 ft), but far higher diversities can be found at lower altitudes, especially in the humid Andean forests ("cloud forests") growing on slopes in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and far northwestern Argentina. These forest-types, which includes the Yungas and parts of the Chocó, are very rich in flora and fauna, although few large mammals exists, exceptions being the threatened Mountain Tapir, Spectacled Bear and Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey.
Birds of humid Andean forests include Mountain-Toucans, Quetzals and the Andean Cock-of-the-rock, while mixed species flocks dominated by tanagers and Furnariids commonly are seen - in contrast to several vocal but typically cryptic species of wrens, tapaculos and antpittas. As a direct opposite of the humid Andean slopes are the relatively dry Andean slopes in most of western Peru, Chile and Argentina. Along with several Interandean Valles, they are typically dominated by deciduous woodland, shrub and/or xeric vegetation, reaching the extreme in the slopes near the virtually lifeless Atacama Desert.
A number of species such as the Royal Cinclodes and White-browed Tit-spinetail are associated with Polylepis, and consequently also threatened.
Human activity
The Andes mountains forms north-south axis of cultural influences. The Inca Empire developed in the central Andes during the 15th century. The Incas formed this civilization through imperialistic militarism as well as careful and meticulous governmental management. The government sponsored the construction of aqueducts and roads, some of which, like those created by the Romans a thousand years before them, are still in existence today.
Devastated by European diseases to which they had no immunity, and civil war, in 1532 the Incas were defeated by an alliance composed of tens of thousands allies from nations they had subjugated (Huancas, Chachapoyas, Cañaris, etc) and a small army of 180 Spaniards led by Pizarro. One of the few Inca cities the Spanish never found in their conquest was Machu Picchu, which lay hidden on a peak on the edge of the Andes where they descend to the Amazon. The main surviving languages of the Andean peoples are those of the Quechua and Aymara language families.
Woodbine Parish and Joseph Barclay Pentland surveyed a large part of the Bolivian Andes from 1826 to 1827.
Transportation
Several major cities exist in the Andes, among them Bogotá in Colombia, Quito in Ecuador, Mérida, Mérida in Venezuela , La Paz in Bolivia, and Cusco in Peru. These and most other cities are now connected with asphalted roads, while smaller towns are often connected by dirt roads, which may require a 4x4 vehicle. Because of the arduous terrain, localities where vehicles are of little use remain. Locally, Llamas continue to play an important role as pack animals, but this use has generally diminished in modern times.
Agriculture
The ancient peoples of the Andes such as the Incas have practiced irrigation techniques for over 6,000 years. Because of the mountain slopes, terracing has been a common practice. Terracing, however, was only extensively employed after Incan imperial expansions to fuel their expanding realm. The potato holds a very important role as an internally consumed staple crop. Maize was also an important crop for these people. However, they were mainly used for the production of the culturally important chicha. Currently, tobacco, cotton and coffee are the main export crops. Coca, despite eradication programmes in some countries, remains an important crop for legal local use in a mildly stimulating herbal tea, and, both controversially and illegally, for the production of cocaine.
Mining
The Andes rose to fame for its mineral wealth during the Spanish conquest of South America. Although Andean Amerindian peoples crafted ceremonial jewelry of gold and other metals the mineralizations of the Andes were first mined in large scale after the Spanish arrival. Potosí in present-day Bolivia was one of the principal mines of the Spanish Empire in the New World. Río de la Plata and Argentina derive their names from the silver of Potosí.
Currently, mining in the Andes of Chile and Peru place these countries as the 1st and 3rd major producers of copper in the world. The Bolivian Andes produce principally tin although historically silver mining had a huge impact on the economy of 17th century Europe.
There is a long history of mining in the Andes, from the Spanish silver mines in Potosí in the 16th century to the vast current porphyry copper deposits of Chuquicamata and Escondida in Chile and Toquepala in Peru. Other metals including iron, gold and tin in addition to non-metallic resources are also important.
Peaks
This list contains some of the major peaks in the Andes mountain range. The highest peak is Aconcagua of Argentina (see bellow).
Argentina
Aconcagua, 6962 m (22841 ft)
Cerro Bonete, 6759 m (22175 ft)
Galán, 5912 m (19396 ft)
Mercedario, 6720 m (22047 ft)
Pissis, 6795 m (22293 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Aconcagua - Argentina - January 2005 - by Sergio Schmiegelow.jpg|Aconcagua, Argentina Image:Cerro tronador desde lago mascardi 01b.jpg|Tronador, Argentina/Chile </gallery>
Border between Argentina and Chile
Cerro Bayo, 5401 m (17720 ft)
Cerro Chaltén, 3375 m (11073 ft) or 3,405 m, Patagonia, also known as Cerro Fitz Roy
Cerro Escorial, 5447 m (17871 ft)
Cordón del Azufre, 5463 m (17923 ft)
Falso Azufre, 5890 m (19324 ft)
Incahuasi, 6620 m (21719 ft)
Lastarria, 5697 m (18691 ft)
Llullaillaco, 6739 m (22110 ft)
Maipo, 5264 m (17270 ft)
Marmolejo, 6110 m (20046 ft)
Ojos del Salado, 6893 m (22615 ft)
Olca, 5407 m (17740 ft)
Sierra Nevada de Lagunas Bravas, 6127 m (20102 ft)
Socompa, 6051 m (19852 ft)
Nevado Tres Cruces, 6,749 m (south summit) (III Region)
Tronador, 3491 m (11453 ft)
Tupungato, 6570 m (21555 ft)
Nacimiento, 6492 m (21299 ft)
<gallery widths="220px" heights="190px" perrow="3"> Image:andes - punta arenas.jpg|<center>Torres del Paine, Chile Image:Llullaillaco.jpg|<center>Llullaillaco, Argentina/Chile File:Camino de Alta.jpg|<center>Camino de Alta Montaña, Argentina/Chile </gallery>
Bolivia
Ancohuma, 6427 m (21086 ft)
Cabaray, 5860 m (19226 ft)
Chacaltaya, 5421 m (17785 ft)
Huayna Potosí, 6088 m (19974 ft)
Illampu, 6368 m (20892 ft)
Illimani, 6438 m (21122 ft)
Macizo de Larancagua, 5520 m (18110 ft)
Macizo de Pacuni, 5400 m (17717 ft)
Nevado Anallajsi, 5750 m (18865 ft)
Nevado Sajama, 6542 m (21463 ft)
Patilla Pata, 5300 m (17388 ft)
Tata Sabaya, 5430 m (17815 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Nevado Sajama.jpg|Sajama Image:Huayna Potosí La Paz - Bolivia.jpg|Huayna Potosí </gallery>
Border between Bolivia and Chile
Acotango, 6052 m (19856 ft)
Cerro Minchincha, 5305 m (17405 ft)
Irruputuncu, 5163 m (16939 ft)
Licancabur, 5920 m (19423 ft)
Olca, 5407 m (17740 ft)
Parinacota, 6348 m (20827 ft)
Paruma, 5420 m (17782 ft)
Pomerape, 6282 m (20610 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Laguna Verde Bolivia.jpg|Licancabur, Bolivia/Chile Image:Parinacota.jpg|Parinacota </gallery>
Chile
Monte San Valentin, 4058 m (13314 ft)
Cerro Paine Grande, c.2750 m (9022 ft)
Cerro Macá, c.2300 m (7546 ft)
Monte Darwin, c.2500 m (8202 ft)
Volcan Hudson, c.1900 m (6234 ft)
Cerro Castillo Dynevor, c.1100 m (3609 ft)
Mount Tarn, c.825 m (2707 ft)
Polleras, 5993 m (19662 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Stgo Abril.jpg|Santiago de Chile on the western slopes of a snowcapped Andes Image:Cuernos del Paine from Lake Pehoé.jpg|View of Cuernos del Paine in Torres del Paine National Park </gallery>
Colombia
Nevado del Huila, 5365 m (17602 ft)
Nevado del Ruiz, 5321 m (17457 ft)
Ritacuba Blanco, 5410 m (17749 ft)
Nevado del Quindío, 5215 m (17110 ft)
Galeras, 4276 m (14029 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Ritacuba-blanco.jpg|Ritacuba blanco the highest peak of Cordillera Oriental, Colombia. Image:Nevado del Ruiz by Edgar.png|Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia </gallery>
Ecuador
Antisana, 5752 m (18871 ft)
Cayambe, 5790 m (18996 ft)
Chimborazo, 6268 m (20564 ft)
Corazón, 4790 m (15715 ft)
Cotopaxi, 5897 m (19347 ft)
El Altar, 5320 m (17454 ft)
Illiniza, 5248 m (17218 ft)
Pichincha, 4784 m (15696 ft)
Quilotoa, 3914 m (12841 ft)
Reventador, 3562 m (11686 ft)
Sangay, 5230 m (17159 ft)
Tungurahua, 5023 m (16480 ft)
Titicacha, 5035 m (16519 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Browncanyonquilotoa.jpg|Rift valley near Quilotoa, Ecuador. Image:Chimborazo from southwest.jpg|Chimborazo, Ecuador </gallery>
Peru
Alpamayo, 5947 m (19511 ft)
Artesonraju, 6025 m (19767 ft)
Carnicero, 5960 m (19554 ft)
El Misti, 5822 m (19101 ft)
El Toro, 5830 m (19127 ft)
Huascarán, 6768 m (22205 ft)
Jirishanca, 6094 m (19993 ft)
Nevado de Huaytapallana, 5557 m (18232 ft)
Pumasillo, 5991 m (19656 ft)
Rasac, 6040 m (19816 ft)
Rondoy, 5870 m (19259 ft)
Sarapo, 6127 m (20102 ft)
Seria Norte, 5860 m (19226 ft)
Siula Grande, 6344 m (20814 ft)
Yerupaja, 6635 m (21768 ft)
Yerupaja Chico, 6089 m (19977 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Alpamayo.jpg|Alpamayo, Peru Image:El misti.jpg|El Misti, Peru </gallery>
Venezuela
Pico Bolívar, 4981 m (16342 ft)
Pico Humboldt, 4940 m (16207 ft)
Pico Bonpland, 4880 m (16010 ft)
Pico La Concha, 4870 m (15978 ft)
Pico Piedras Blancas, 4740 m (15551 ft)
<gallery widths="250px"> Image:Bolívar usgs.jpg|Pico Bolívar, Venezuela File:Pico Humboldt.jpg|Pico Humboldt, Venezuela </gallery>
Translation
The word "Andes" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Afrikaans, Aragonese, Asturian, Catalan, Welsh, Fiji Hindi, West Frisian, Galician, Indonesian, Interlingua, Javanese, Swahili, Latin, Ligurian, Dutch, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Occitan, Simple English, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Waray-Waray.
Translation(s) in other languages: Arabic: أنديز, Azeri: And dağları, Bengali: আন্দেস পর্বতমালা, Belarusian: Анды, Belarusian (Taraškievica): Анды, Bavarian: Andn, Bosnian: Andi, Breton: Andoù, Bulgarian: Анди, Czech: Andy, Danish: Andesbjergene, German: Anden, Estonian: Andid, Greek: Άνδεις, Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes, Esperanto: Andoj, Basque: Andeak, Persian: آند (رشتهکوه), Faroese: Andesfjøll, French: Cordillère des Andes, Irish: Na hAindéis, Scottish Gaelic: Beanntan na h-Andes, Gan: 安底斯山脈, Korean: 안데스 산맥, Hindi: एंडीज़, Croatian: Ande, Icelandic: Andesfjöll, Italian: Ande, Hebrew: הרי האנדים, Kannada: ಆಂಡೆಸ್ ಪರ್ವತಗಳು, Georgian: ანდები, Latvian: Andi, Luxembourgish: Anden, Lithuanian: Andai, Lombard: Ande, Hungarian: Andok, Macedonian: Анди, Malayalam: ആന്തിസ്, Marathi: अँडीझ पर्वतरांग, Egyptian Arabic: انديز, Malay: Banjaran Gunung Andes, Mirandese: Cordilheira de ls Andes, Mongolian: Андын нуруу, Japanese: アンデス山脈, Western Panjabi: انڈیز, Piedmontese: Ande, Polish: Andy, Portuguese: Cordilheira dos Andes, Romanian: Anzii Cordilieri, Quechua: Antikuna, Russian: Анды, Albanian: Andet, Sicilian: Andi, Slovak: Andy, Slovenian: Andi, Serbian: Анди, Serbo-Croatian: Ande, Finnish: Andit, Swedish: Anderna, Tamil: ஆண்டீய மலைத்தொடர், Telugu: ఆండీస్ పర్వతాలు, Thai: เทือกเขาแอนดีส, Tajik: Кӯҳҳои Анд, Turkish: And Dağları, Ukrainian: Анди, Urdu: سلسلہ کوہ انڈیز, Uyghur: ئاند تاغلىرى, Võro: Andiq, Yiddish: אנדן, Samogitian: Andā, Chinese: 安地斯山脈.
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