Copper mountains - this is how the Incas call these the 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 with any of the existing ones on our planet. The length of the Andes is about 9 thousand km. They originate from the Caribbean Sea and reach Tierra del Fuego.
Andes Width and Height
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, it is worth mentioning Mount Ritakuva (5493 meters), El Libertador (6720 meters), Huascaran (6768 meters), Mercedario (6770 meters) and others. There are sections on which mountains are 500 km wide. As for their maximum width, it is about 750 km. Their main part is occupied by the Pune plateau, which has a very high snow line, which reaches 6500 m. The average height of the Andes is about 4000 m.
Age of the Andes and their education
According to experts, these mountains are quite young. Several million years ago, the process of mountain building was completed here. Even in the Precambrian period, the origin of fossils began. Sites of land then began to arise on the site of the vast ocean. The area where modern Andean Cordillera are located has long been either sea or land, and the height of the Andes has changed significantly. The mountain range completed its formation after raising the rocks. The huge folds, consisting of stone, as a result of this process have advanced to an impressive height. By the way, this process is not over. It continues in our time. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes sometimes occur in the Andes.
Rivers originating in the Andes
The longest mountains on our planet are at the same time considered the largest interoceanic watershed. The famous Amazon originates in the Andean Cordillera, as well as its tributaries. It should also be noted that in the Andes, tributaries of large rivers of the states of South America begin : Paraguay, Orinoco and Parana. Mountains are a climatic barrier for the mainland, 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 long, so it is not surprising that they are located in six climatic zones. Unlike the south, on the western slopes the amount of precipitation is great. It reaches 10 thousand mm per year. Consequently, not only the height of the Andes varies significantly, but also their landscape.
The Andean Cordilleras by relief are divided into 3 regions: Central, Northern and Southern Andes. The main Cordillera are separated by the hollows of rivers such as Magdalena and Cauca. There are many volcanoes. One of them, Uila, reaches 5750 m. The other, Ruiz, rises to 5400 m. Kumbal, which is now active, reaches a height of 4890 m. The Ecuadorian Andes, belonging to the Northern Andes, include a volcanic chain marked by the highest volcanoes. Chimborazo alone is worth what - it rises 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 South Andes are divided into Chilean-Argentinean and Patagonian. The highest points in this part are Tupungato (about 6800 m) and Mecedario (6770 m). A snow line reaches six thousand meters here.
Volcano Ljulyayljako
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 Ljulyayljako volcano is 6739 m. It is the highest of all active. In the area 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
In this unusual place there are areas in which there has never been rain. Atacama Desert is the driest place on Earth. The fact is that rains cannot overcome the mountain range, so they fall on the other side of the mountains. Sands in this desert extend to the tropics for thousands of kilometers. Cold fog rising by the sea is the only source of moisture for local plants.
San Rafael Glacier
Another interesting place that 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 was very surprising for the pioneers, since at the same latitude in the northern hemisphere lie the south of France and Venice, and here they discovered the San Rafael Glacier. He moves, squeezing the slopes of the mountains, whose peaks become more and more sharp over time. Only in 1962 was its source discovered. A giant ice sheet cools the entire region.
Vegetation
The Andes are a unique place on our planet, and not only thanks to the impressive values ​​that the width and height of the mountains have. The Andes are unusually 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 moist tropical forests cover the lower parts of the slopes from the Northwest Andes to the Central. There are bananas, ficuses, a cocoa tree, palm trees, creepers and bamboos. However, there are rocky lifeless spaces, and many moss swamps. In places where the average height of the Andes exceeds 4500 m, there is an area of ​​eternal ice and snow. The Andean Cordillera are known as the birthplace of quinine, coca, tomato, tobacco and potatoes.
Animal world
The animal world of these mountains is no less interesting. Llamas, alpacas, chain-tailed monkeys, pudu deer, vicuñas, spectacled bears, blue foxes, sloths, hummingbirds, chinchillas live here. The inhabitants of our country can find all these animals only in zoos.
One of the characteristics of the Andes is a wide 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. In local rivers there are about 400 species.
Tourism and locals
The Andean Cordillera, in addition to remote and impassable areas, are not an untouched corner of nature. Locals cultivate almost every piece of land here. However, the road to the Andes for most tourists means a "departure" from the present. Over the centuries, a constant way of life has been maintained in these places, which allows tourists to feel in the past.
Travelers can walk along ancient Native American trails, where, however, sometimes you need to stop to skip ahead a herd of guanacos, sheep or goats. No matter how many times you have visited these mountains, the nature of these places is always fascinating. Meetings with locals are also unforgettable. Their lifestyle is far from our usual. The huts in these places are built of raw bricks. Locals often do without electricity. In order to get water, they go to the nearest creek.
Hiking in the mountains is not mountaineering in the usual sense of the word. Rather, it is walking along steep paths. However, they need to be done only by absolutely healthy and well-trained people with special equipment.