South America is as mysterious for our people as Australia, is actually just as unattainable, incomprehensible and mysterious. Many adventure books have been written about her and the same number of no less adventure films have been shot. The jungle, monkeys, alligators, piranhas - all this must certainly be present in a good action movie, and all this is fully inherent in South America.
South American Mountain System
But not only such stereotypical things are present on this continent. One of the most interesting geographical features are the mountains of South America. They can be described in one word: "the most." Because in almost all characteristics they “defeat” the rest of the mountain systems of the world. So, the mountains of South America are the longest chain. Their total length almost reaches nine thousand kilometers. At the same time, they pass through the maximum number of countries — they are located in seven states.
Only in height the mountain systems of South America occupy an honorable second place: they were ahead of the Himalayas. They are the winners in determining the highest point on the planet. However, note that the highest mountain in South America - Aconcagua - again immediately follows Everest, and at the same time it is the highest peak of the entire hemisphere. Moreover, Aconcagua is an extinct volcano and the rest of the mountains still win in the competition for altitude, since there is no longer a higher volcano in the world. This is the largest mountain in South America located in Argentina and has a height of almost seven kilometers (6960 m).
Mountain wealth
The Andes - the mountains of South America got their name, one might say, from the ancient Incas. The word "anta" in their language meant "mountains of copper." Apparently, the Incas valued this metal more than other minerals, as they called their mountains. Not only copper is rich in the mountains of the Andes of South America. Other metals are being developed here. Among them, lead, zinc, tin, and even vanadium. Rich deposits of precious metals, such as platinum and gold, were also found, and high-quality emeralds were also mined.
In the foothills of the Andes there are oil and gas fields (mainly in Venezuela), although they are not as significant as in Iraq or Saudi Arabia.
Geographical division of mountains
The South American mountain system frames the entire continent from the west and north. Its width is not so great compared to the length - “only” three hundred kilometers. But due to its vast length, the Andes - the mountains of South America - are usually divided into several parts, also called "clusters". Geographers distinguish four such "segments".
North and west
The first part is the Northern Andes. The very north of South America (plus the island of Trinidad) is a relatively low mountain that runs along the coast. These include the higher massif of the Cordillera de Merida, which is located to the west, and the separate system of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, already located on the Pacific coast. The highest mountain of South America in this part of the Andes is Cristobal Colon (5.744 km).
The Western Andes run parallel to the Central, also along the ocean, merging into a single ridge already in Ecuador. Between them are volcanoes - both extinct and active. Among them is the second highest mountain of South America (Chimboraso). This is also a volcano, like Aconcagua, but 700 meters lower. Here is the highest active volcano - Cotopaxi. But it does not reach a height of six kilometers.
South and east
The Eastern Andes are also marked by active volcanoes. Here they are quite high, but still lower than Cotopaxi. Although on average it is the highest part of the Southern Cordilleras, as the mountains of South America are also called.
The Chilean-Argentinean part is the narrowest in the Andes. In some places, it boils down to a single ridge called the Main Cordillera. This is where Aconcagua is located. At least half of the peaks of this cluster are volcanoes that are still active today.
And finally, the South Andes. In this part of the mainland, the mountains fall again, and the most outstanding peak is only three and a half kilometers.
The formation of the Andes: history and modernity
The average height of the Southern Cordilleras, according to geographers, is four kilometers. The mountains are quite young, but their basic formation has already been completed. Now their slow destruction occurs. It is accelerated by the presence of the nearby Pacific Ocean, which almost undermines the mountains. A map of South America clearly shows how close the waters are. Winds from the ocean and humid air accelerate the destruction process, and therefore the mountains lose almost a centimeter of height a year.
However, volcanoes also make their contribution, of which, as already mentioned, there are many in the Andes, and a significant number of them are still active. Thanks to them, some peaks can still “grow”, so that the average height of the system remains the same.
A variety of South American mountains
In different places of the Andes, the landscape, the relief, and the vegetation are very different. This is due, firstly, to the fact that separate parts of mountain ranges were formed in different geological eras. And secondly, the fact that the Southern Cordilleras are very long and cross several natural zones.
The central part of the Andes, under the influence of the cold Peruvian current, becomes a rather cool zone. On a plateau called Pune, the temperature does not rise more than +10, and sometimes drops to -25 degrees. There is also the most arid desert on the planet Atacama.
The South Andes are subtropics. And although in the hottest month the air does not warm above +15, it is very humid and there is a lot of rainfall - an abundance of wet snow or rain.
So, if you travel from end to end of the South American mountains, you can personally see most of the climatic zones.
Climbing appeal
Southern Cordillera, due to their height and unusualness, are very interesting to climbers. People come here from all over the world, including from Russia and other parts of the former Union.
The most popular are two climbing “sites”: the highest mountain in South America, that is, Aconcagua, and Alpamayo peak. The first on the list is considered quite uncomplicated to overcome. The mountain is attractive, rather, precisely because of its height and views. However, to conquer Aconcagua you need to have good climbing experience, endurance and reliable tolerance of rarefied air. The danger to conquerors is mainly the changeable weather in the region of Aconcagua. Its abrupt changes make the mountain so dangerous.
Another thing is Alpamayo. It is considered the most impregnable in South America and is among the ten world "difficult" mountains. The angle between the “walls” of Alpamayo and the ground reaches 60 degrees. Even well-equipped climbers more often than not get to half the mountain. Units reached the top. And the first time Alpamayo was conquered in 1951 by two climbers from the Belgian-French expedition.
Among beginner climbers, climbing Kotopakhi is considered interesting. The volcano, although active, is now sleeping. Like many other peaks, he was conquered far from the first time. At the beginning of the 19th century, two climbers tried to climb to the top and could not. This, in principle, is not surprising, but it’s a shame that they could not overcome only the last 300 meters.
Despite the difficult moments of the route, today Cotopaxi is accessible even to a trained beginner. The main thing is not to forget to dress warmer, at the top the temperature rarely rises above -10.
A curious nuance is the need for a night trip: you need to return to the camp before the path from the snow melts.
So the mountains of South America are interesting in very different directions, and if you can, a trip there is a must.