Copper Mountains - this is how the Incas call these longest mountains in the world. We are talking about the Andean Cordillera, known to us as the Andes. This mountain range is not comparable in length to any of the existing ones on our planet. The Andes are about 9,000 km long. They originate from the Caribbean Sea and reach Tierra del Fuego.
Width and height of the Andes
Aconcagua (pictured below) is the highest peak of the Andean Cordillera. The height of the Andes at this point is 6962 meters. Aconcagua is located in Argentina. What are the prevailing heights? The Andes have a number of large peaks. Among them, Mount Ritakuva (5493 meters), El Libertador (6720 meters), Huascaran (6768 meters), Mercedario (6770 m) and others should be noted. There are sections where mountains reach 500 km in width. As for their maximum width, it is about 750 km. The main part of them is occupied by the Puna plateau, which has a very high snow line, which reaches 6500 m. The average height of the Andes is approximately 4000 m.
Andean age and education
According to experts, these mountains are quite young. A few million years ago, the process of mountain building ended here. Also inPrecambrian period began the origin of fossils. Land plots then began to appear in place of the boundless ocean. The area where the modern Andean Cordillera is located was for a long time either sea or land, and the height of the Andes changed significantly. The mountain range completed its formation after the uplift of rocks. Huge folds of stone were pushed to an impressive height as a result of this process. By the way, this process is not finished. It continues in our time. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occasionally occur in the Andes.
Rivers originating in the Andes
The longest mountains on our planet are also considered the largest inter-oceanic watershed. The famous Amazon originates precisely in the Andean Cordillera, as well as its tributaries. It should also be noted that the tributaries of the major rivers of the states of South America begin in the Andes: Paraguay, Orinoco and Parana. For the mainland, mountains are a climatic barrier, that is, they protect the land from the west from the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, and from the east from the influence of the Pacific Ocean.
Relief
The Andes are so long that it is not surprising that they are located in six climatic zones. Unlike the southern slopes, the amount of precipitation is high on the western slopes. It reaches 10 thousand mm per year. Consequently, not only the height of the Andes, but also their landscape varies significantly.
The Andean Cordilleras are divided by relief into 3 regions: Central, Northern and Southern Andes. The main Cordilleras are separated by the depressions of such rivers as the Magdalena and the Cauca. There are many volcanoes here. One of them, Huila, reaches 5750 m. The other, Ruiz, rises to 5400 m. Cumbal, which is now active, reaches a height of 4890 m. The Ecuadorian Andes, belonging to the Northern, include a volcanic chain marked by the highest volcanoes. Chimborazo alone is worth something - it rises to 6267 m. The height of Cotopaxi is not much less - 5896 m. The highest point of the Ecuadorian Andes is Huascaran - 6769 m is the absolute height of the mountain. The Andes South are divided into Chile-Argentine and Patagonian. The highest points in this part are Tupungato (about 6800 m) and Medcedario (6770 m). The snow line reaches six thousand meters here.
Volcano Llullaillaco
This is a very interesting active volcano located on the border of Argentina and Chile. It belongs to the Peruvian Andes (Western Cordillera range). This volcano is located in the Atacama Desert, which is one of the driest places on our planet. The absolute height of the Andes at the point of the Ljullaillaco volcano is 6739 m. It is the highest of all active volcanoes. In the region of this volcano, the Andes mountains are very peculiar. Its relative height reaches 2.5 km. On the western slope of the volcano, the snow line exceeds 6.5 thousand meters, which is its highest position on the planet.
Atacama Desert
This unusual place has areas where it has never rained. The Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth. The fact is that rains cannot overcome a mountain range, sofall on the other side of the mountains. The sands in this desert stretch to the very tropics for thousands of kilometers. The cold fog rising from the sea is the only source of moisture for native plants.
San Rafael Glacier
Another interesting place I would like to talk about is the San Rafael Glacier. It should be noted that in the south of the Alpine Cordillera, where it is located, it is very cold. At one time, this surprised the pioneers very much, since the south of France and Venice lie at the same latitude in the northern hemisphere, and here they discovered the San Rafael glacier. It moves along the slopes of the mountains, the peaks of which become sharper and steeper over time. Only in 1962 was its source discovered. A gigantic ice sheet is cooling the entire region.
Vegetation
The Andes are a unique place on our planet, and not only because of the impressive values that the width and height of the mountains have. The Andes are extremely picturesque. In different places they have their own zest. In the Andes of Venezuela, for example, shrubs and deciduous forests grow on red soils. Equatorial and tropical rainforests cover the lower slopes from the Northwest Andes to the Central. Bananas, ficuses, cocoa trees, palm trees, creepers and bamboos are found here. However, there are also rocky lifeless spaces, and many moss swamps. In places where the average height of the Andes exceeds 4500 m, there is an area of \u200b\u200bperpetual ice and snow. The Andean Cordilleras are known as the birthplace of cinchona, coca, tomatoes, tobacco andpotatoes.
Animal world
The fauna of these mountains is no less interesting. Llamas, alpacas, chain-tailed monkeys, pudu deer, vicuñas, spectacled bears, blue foxes, sloths, hummingbirds, chinchillas live here. Residents of our country can find all these animals only in zoos.
One of the features of the Andes is the great variety of amphibian species (about 900). About 600 species of mammals live in the mountains, as well as about two thousand species of birds. The variety of freshwater fish is also great. There are about 400 species in local rivers.
Tourism & Locals
Andean Cordillera, except for remote and rugged areas, is not an untouched corner of nature. Local residents cultivate almost every piece of land here. However, the road to the Andes for most tourists means a "departure" from modernity. Over the centuries, these places have maintained an unchanged way of life, which allows tourists to feel like in the past.
Travelers can walk along ancient Indian trails, where, however, sometimes you need to stop to let a herd of guanacos, sheep or goats go ahead. No matter how many times you have visited these mountains, the nature of these places is always mesmerizing. Meetings with the locals also turn out to be unforgettable. Their way of life is far from familiar to us. The huts in these places are built of raw bricks. Local residents often do without electricity. In order to get water, they go to the nearest stream.
Hiking in the mountainsThis is not climbing in the usual sense of the word. Rather, it is walking along steep trails. However, they should be performed only by absolutely he althy and well-trained people with special equipment.
