The Andes are one of the most beautiful mountain systems on the planet. And at the same time it is the longest mountain range in the world, the length of the Andes mountains is 9 thousand kilometers. They stretch across several large states and climatic zones, their nature is very diverse and unique.
Andes - the longest mountain system on the planet
The Andes are the mountains that are the longest on the planet. The length of the Andes mountains is 9 thousand kilometers. Despite this, their width is relatively small - only 500 kilometers. The average height of the Andes is about 4 kilometers. The Andes pass through 7 states - this is Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia. The nature and landscapes of these mountains are very diverse, because the length of the Andes is thousands of kilometers. The mountains are located in five climatic zones, starting from the equatorial zone in the north and ending with the temperate in the south. And high-altitude zoning makes the nature of the mountains even more unique and diverse. The climate in different parts of the Andes is significantly different. The main feature of the Andes is strongly affected - this mountain system is a watershed between the two largest oceans - the Pacific and Atlantic. To the east of the mountains are the basins of the rivers of the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west of the Pacific Ocean.
Different areas of the Andes
Since the Andes are a very long mountain system, they are conditionally divided into three regions. The length of the Andes mountains is made up of the Northern, Central and Eastern Andes. In turn, these parts of the Andes are divided into the Caribbean Andes, the Northwest and so on.
Northern Andes
The Northern Andes are located closest to the equator, they stretch from the Caribbean Sea to the border of Ecuador and Peru. The Northern Andes end with a rift that separates them from the Central Andes. They are also divided into separate areas, mountain systems. The Caribbean Andes stretch along the Caribbean Sea in Venezuela, at the foot of them is the capital of Venezuela - Caracas. The Ecuadorian Andes are located respectively in the state of Ecuador. The Northwest Andes stretch across Colombia and Venezuela.
If off the coast of the Caribbean Sea, in Colombia and Venezuela, ridges are fan-shaped and the Andes stretch 450 km from west to east in this section, then to the south the mountains narrow sharply to 100 kilometers. Along the Pacific coast stretches the Serrania de Baudo ridge, it is isolated from the rest of the Andes by the hollow of the Colombian river Atrato. It is short, narrow and strongly dissected. Higher to the east are higher ranges belonging to the Western, Eastern Cordillera and Central, which are separated by the Cauca and Magdalena rivers. They belong to the Northwest Andes.
Central Cordillera - the highest mountains of Colombia, they contain the highest volcanic peaks - Talima (5,215 m) and Uila (5,750 m). There is also the Ruiz volcano (5,400 m), which destroyed the city of Amero with its eruption, the number of victims is 25 thousand people. In general, the Northern Andes are a seismically active zone, earthquakes regularly occur here. In 1949, the city of Palileo was completely destroyed by tremors with a capacity of 6.8 points. And in 1999, the cities of Armenia and Pereira in Colombia were significantly destroyed.
Central Andes
The central Andes stretch for thousands of kilometers from the border of Peru and Ecuador to 27 degrees south latitude. This is the widest section of the mountain system, from west to east the length of the Andes mountains is in km - 800 in Bolivia.
The Central Andes are divided into the Peruvian Andes and simply the Central. In Peruvian there are rivers feeding the deep Amazon - Ucayali, Uallagi, Maranon. Here, as in the Northern Andes, the Eastern, Western and Central Cordillera ridges are also located. They are separated by numerous deep canyons. The peaks here have heights of more than 6 thousand meters. The highest point is the peak of Huascaran with a height of 6,768 meters.
To the south is the widest stretch of mountains - the Central Andan Highlands, a significant part of which is the Pune Plateau. Heights on the territory of Pune reach 4 thousand meters. In this area there are large and famous lakes - Poopo, Titicaca. Titicaca is the only navigable lake in the world located at such a high altitude - 3,812 meters. And also there are salt marshes - Atakama, Uyuni, Koipas. To the east of Pune is the Cordillera Real with the high peak of Ankouma (6,550 m). Also in this part of the Andes is the alpine city of La Paz, which is the capital of Bolivia. This is the only metropolitan city located at an altitude of 3,600 m, it is located in the crater of an extinct volcano. In addition, the world's longest cable road in the Andes is located here, its length is 10 km.
The continuation of the Cordillera Real in the south is the Central Cordillera with the highest point - El Libertador (6 720 m). To the west of Pune is the Western Cordillera with high peaks-volcanoes: Sahama (6,780), San Pedro, Lulhaillaco, Misti. The slopes of the Western Cordillera descend to the Longitudinal Valley, the southern part of which is occupied by the most severe Atacama Desert. It is located near the Andes Mountains, the length is in km - 1,000.
South Andes
The South Andes are divided into two parts. In the north, these are the Chilean-Argentinean Andes or Subtropical, and in the south Patagonian.
In the Chilean-Argentinean, it is possible to distinguish the Coastal Cordillera, the Main Cordillera and the Longitudinal Valley. Within the Main Cordillera, one can distinguish the Cordillera Frontal, where the top of Aconcagua is located - 6,960 meters high. To the east are the Precordillera.
The Patagonian Andes are located in the south in the temperate climate zone. They are low compared to the Central and Northern Andes and the Chilean-Argentinean, the highest peak here is San Valentin (4 058 meters). The coastal Cordillera in the south becomes numerous mountainous islands. The longitudinal valley to the south decreases until it becomes the bottom of the ocean. Cordillera’s home is also declining south.