Portal:Andes
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The Andes Portal
The Andes (/ˈændiːz/ AN-deez), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes; Quechua: Anti) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is 8,900 km (5,530 mi) long and 200 to 700 km (124 to 435 mi) wide (widest between 18°S and 20°S latitude) and has an average height of about 4,000 m (13,123 ft). The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.
Along their length, the Andes are split into several ranges, separated by intermediate depressions. The Andes are the location of several high plateaus—some of which host major cities such as Quito, Bogotá, Cali, Arequipa, Medellín, Bucaramanga, Sucre, Mérida, El Alto and La Paz. The Altiplano Plateau is the world's second-highest after the Tibetan Plateau. These ranges are in turn grouped into three major divisions based on climate: the Tropical Andes, the Dry Andes, and the Wet Andes.
The Andes Mountains are the highest mountain range outside Asia. The highest mountain outside Asia, Argentina's Aconcagua, rises to an elevation of about 6,961 m (22,838 ft) above sea level. The peak of Chimborazo in the Ecuadorian Andes is farther from the Earth's center than any other location on the Earth's surface, due to the equatorial bulge resulting from the Earth's rotation. The world's highest volcanoes are in the Andes, including Ojos del Salado on the Chile-Argentina border, which rises to 6,893 m (22,615 ft). (Full article...)
Selected articles
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Image 1
Huascarán (Spanish pronunciation: [waskaˈɾan]) (Quechua: Waskaran), Nevado Huascarán or Mataraju is a mountain located in Yungay Province, Department of Ancash, Peru. It is situated in the Cordillera Blanca range of the western Andes. The southern summit of Huascarán (Huascarán Sur), which reaches 6,768 metres (22,205 ft), is the highest point in Peru, the northern Andes (north of Lake Titicaca), and in all of the earth's Tropics. Huascarán is the 4th highest mountain in South America after Aconcagua, Ojos del Salado, and Monte Pissis. Huascarán is ranked 25th by topographic isolation. (Full article...) -
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Licancabur (Spanish pronunciation: [likaŋkaˈβuɾ]) is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile, south of the Sairecabur volcano and west of Juriques. Part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone, it has a prominent, 5,916-metre (19,409 ft)-high cone. A 400–500-metre (1,300–1,600 ft) summit crater containing Licancabur Lake, a crater lake which is among the highest lakes in the world, caps the volcano. There are no glaciers owing to the arid climate. Numerous animal species and plants live on the mountain.
Licancabur formed atop of Pleistocene ignimbrites and has been active during the Holocene, after the ice ages. Three stages of lava flows emanate from the edifice and have a young appearance. Although no historic eruptions of the volcano are known, lava flows extending into Laguna Verde have been dated to 13,240 ± 100 BP and there may be residual heat in the mountain. The volcano has primarily erupted andesite, with small amounts of dacite and basaltic andesite. (Full article...) -
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Pico Bolívar is the highest mountain in Venezuela, at 4,978 metres (16,332 ft). Located in Mérida State. It can be reached only by walking; the Mérida cable car, which was the highest and longest cable car in the world when it was built, only reaches Pico Espejo. From there it is possible to climb to Pico Bolívar. The peak is named after the Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar.
The Pico Bolívar is located on the mountain previously called La Columna, next to El León (4,743 m) and El Toro (4,695 m). The new name was suggested by Tulio Febres Cordero in 1925. It was officially renamed on December 30, 1934. (Full article...) -
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Monte San Valentin, also known as Monte San Clemente, is the highest mountain in Chilean Patagonia and the highest mountain south of 37°S outside Antarctica. It stands at the north end of the North Patagonian Icefield.
Monte San Valentin can be climbed from Lago Leones, to the south east, or from Laguna San Rafael, to the west. The ascent is long and is particularly subject to bad weather. (Full article...) -
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The Puracé National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Puracé) is a national park located in the Andean region of Colombia, southeast of the city of Popayán in the Cordillera Central range. Its main feature is the active stratovolcano Puracé, one of Colombia's most active volcanoes. Four of the country's most important rivers originate within the area: Magdalena River, Cauca River, Japurá River and Patía River. (Full article...) -
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Chinchillas are either of two species (Chinchilla chinchilla and Chinchilla lanigera) of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America. They live in colonies called "herds" at high elevations up to 4,270 m (14,000 ft). Historically, chinchillas lived in an area that included parts of Bolivia, Peru and Chile, but today, colonies in the wild are known only in Chile. Along with their relatives, viscachas, they make up the family Chinchillidae. They are also related to the chinchilla rat.
The chinchilla has the densest fur of all mammals that live on land, with around 20,000 hairs per square centimeter and 50 hairs growing from each follicle. In the water, the sea otter has a denser coat. The chinchilla is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare after being hunted for their ultra-soft fur. Most chinchillas currently used by the fur industry for clothing and other accessories are farm-raised. Domestic chinchillas descended from C. lanigera are sometimes kept as pets, and may be considered a type of pocket pet. (Full article...) -
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The Laguna de Sonso Nature Reserve is located in the Valle del Cauca Department of Colombia. It contains the last extensive remnant of original natural wetland remaining in the Cauca River Valley in western Colombia, and was declared a nature reserve in October 1978. It comprises a series of marshes and lagoons on the east bank of the Cauca River, between the municipalities of Buga, Yotoco and Guacari. It has an area of 2,045 ha (7.90 sq mi), lying at an altitude of 935 m (3,068 ft). The wetlands are affected by the introduced water hyacinth. The reserve has been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2017. (Full article...) -
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Reventador is an active stratovolcano which lies in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. It lies in a remote area of the national park of the same name, which is Spanish for "exploder". Since 1541, it has erupted over 25 times, although its isolated location means that many of its eruptions have gone unreported.
The largest historical eruption occurred in 2002. During that eruption, the plume from the volcano reached a height of 17 kilometres (11 mi) and pyroclastic flows proceeded to 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the cone. On March 30, 2007, the mountain ejected ash to a height of about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi). No injuries or damage were reported. Its most recent eruption began on 27 July 2008, and it has remained in continuing eruption status (intermittent eruptive events without a break of 3 months or more) as of 15 October 2021. (Full article...) -
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Volcán Marmolejo is a 6,108 m (20,039 ft) high Pleistocene stratovolcano in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile. It is located 9 km (6 mi) NNE of the active San José volcano, and is the southernmost 6,000 m (19,685 ft)-plus peak in the world. The Argentine portion is within the Argentinean protection area of Provincial Reserve for Multiple Use and Natural Recreation Manzano / Portillo de Piuquenes. It is on the border of two provinces: Argentinean province of Mendoza and Chilean province of Cordillera. Its slopes are within the administrative boundaries of the two cities: Argentinean city of Tunuyán and the Chilean commune of San José de Maipo. (Full article...) -
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Huaytapallana (possibly from in the Quechua spelling Waytapallana; wayta wild flower, a little bunch of flowers, pallay to collect, pallana an instrument to collect fruit / collectable, Waytapallana "a place where you collect wild flowers",) or Lasuntay is the highest peak in the Huaytapallana mountain range in the Andes of Peru. Its summit reaches about 5,557 m (18,232 ft) above sea level. The mountain is situated in the Junín Region, Huancayo Province, in the districts of Huancayo and Pariahuanca. (Full article...) -
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Sarapo is a mountain in the Huayhuash mountain range in the Andes of Peru, about 6,127 metres (20,102 ft) high. It is located in the Huánuco Region, Lauricocha Province, Jesús District as well as in the Lima Region, Cajatambo Province, in the districts Cajatambo and Copa. Sarapo lies south of the Yerupaja and the Siula Grande and east of the lake Sarapococha. (Full article...) -
Image 12
The Andean flicker (Colaptes rupicola) is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. (Full article...) -
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Parinacota (in Hispanicized spelling), Parina Quta or Parinaquta is a dormant stratovolcano on the border of Bolivia and Chile. Together with Pomerape it forms the Nevados de Payachata volcanic chain. Part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, its summit reaches an elevation of 6,380 metres (20,930 ft) above sea level. The symmetrical cone is capped by a summit crater with widths of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) or 1,000 metres (3,300 ft). Farther down on the southern slopes lie three parasitic centres known as the Ajata cones. These cones have generated lava flows. The volcano overlies a platform formed by lava domes and andesitic lava flows.
The volcano started growing during the Pleistocene and formed a large cone. At some point between the Pleistocene and the Holocene, the western flank of the volcano collapsed, generating a giant landslide that spread west and formed a large, hummocky landslide deposit. The avalanche crossed and dammed a previously existing drainage, impounding or enlarging Lake Chungará; numerous other lakes now forming the headwaters of the Rio Lauca sprang up within the deposit. Volcanic activity rebuilt the cone after the collapse, cancelling out the collapse scar. (Full article...) -
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Nahuel Huapi National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi) is the oldest national park in Argentina, established in 1922 as Parque Nacional de Sud and reconfiguered in 1934. It surrounds Nahuel Huapi Lake in the foothills of the Patagonian Andes. The largest of the national parks in the region, it has an area of 7,050 km2 (2,720 sq mi), or nearly 2 million acres. Its landscapes represent the north Patagonian Andean Zone consisting of three types, namely, the Altoandino (with perpetual snow above an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft)), the Andino-Patagónico (in the lower reaches of the hills) and the Patagonian steppe. It also represents small parts of the Valdivian Rainforest.
The park and the reserve lie at an altitude of 720–3,574 metres (2,362–11,726 ft), and are designated under IUCN management categories II (National Park) and IV (Management Reserve). The park is completely protected while the reserve is partially protected. The national park is dominated by the high mountain chain of the Andes, many lakes, rapid rivers, waterfalls, snow-clad peaks, glaciers and extensive forests. It is bordered by Chile on its western side. (Full article...) -
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The Tropical Andes is northern of the three climate-delineated parts of the Andes, the others being the Dry Andes and the Wet Andes. The Tropical Andes' area spans 1,542,644 km2 (595,618 sq mi). (Full article...) -
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Chacaltaya (Mollo language for "bridge of winds" or "winds meeting point", Aymara for "cold road"[dubious – discuss]) is a mountain in the Cordillera Real, one of the mountain ranges of the Cordillera Oriental, itself a range of the Bolivian Andes. Its elevation is 5,421 meters (17,785 ft). Chacaltaya's glacier — which was as old as 18,000 years — had an area of 0.22 km2 (0.085 sq mi) in 1940, which had been reduced to 0.01 km2 (0.0039 sq mi) in 2007 and was completely gone by 2009. Half of the meltdown, as measured by volume, took place before 1980. The final meltdown after 1980, due to missing precipitation and the warm phase of El Niño, resulted in the glacier's disappearance in 2009. The glacier was located about 30 kilometers (19 mi) from La Paz, near Huayna Potosí mountain. (Full article...) -
Image 17
The Illinizas are a pair of volcanic mountains that are located in the north of Latacunga, Cotopaxi, Ecuador. They are located in the Illinizas Ecological Reserve (Spanish: Reserva Ecológica Los Illinizas). These twin mountains are separated by a saddle that is about a kilometer long. The peaks are among the highest in Ecuador, with Illiniza Sur standing slightly taller than Illiniza Norte, its northern counterpart, at 5245 metres and 5126 metres respectively.
Most guidebooks (for example, Lonely Planet Ecuador, Ecuador: A Climbing Guide) spell the mountain with only one "l" as in Iliniza. The name Illinizas is derived from the Kunza words for "masculine hill." (Full article...) -
Image 18
Puracé is an andesitic stratovolcano located in the Puracé National Natural Park in the Cauca Department, Colombia. It is part of the North Volcanic Zone of the Andean Volcanic Belt. The volcano is located at the intersection of the Coconucos and Morras Faults.
It is one of the most active volcanoes in Colombia. Large explosive eruptions occurred in 1849, 1869, 1885, 1949, 1950, 1956, and 1957. There were about a dozen eruptions in the 20th century, the most recent being in 1977. On this occasion, volcanic ash was deposited 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) away. Fumaroles were seen near the summit in 1990, and hot springs emerged from some of the lower slopes. (Full article...) -
Image 19Cerro Negro de Mayasquer is a volcano on the border of Colombia and Ecuador. It lies 3 kilometres (2 mi) north-west of the volcano Chiles, and the two peaks are considered part of the same Chiles-Cerro Negro volcanic complex. These volcanoes, together with Cumbal are andesitic in rock type. A 1936 eruption reported by the Colombian government agency INGEOMINAS may have been from the Ecuadorean volcano Reventador, otherwise the volcano has not erupted for around 160,000 years. (Full article...)
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Image 20Wayna Potosí (Aymara and Quechua wayna young, Hispanicized spelling Huayna Potosí) is a mountain in the Andes of Bolivia, about 4,969 metres (16,302 ft) high. It is located in the Oruro Department, Sajama Province, Turku Municipality, Turku Canton, northwest of Turku (Turco). The Turku River originates near the mountain. It is a left tributary of the Lauca River. (Full article...)
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Image 21
Telmatobius macrostomus, also known as the Lake Junin (giant) frog or Andes smooth frog, is a very large and endangered species of frog in the family Telmatobiidae. This completely aquatic frog is endemic to lakes and associated waters at altitudes of 4,000–4,600 m (13,100–15,100 ft) in the Andes of Junín and Pasco in central Peru. It has been introduced to slow-moving parts of the upper Mantaro River, although it is unclear if this population still persists.
Together with the closely related Amable Maria frog (T. brachydactylus), it is sometimes placed in the genus Batrachophrynus. (Full article...) -
Image 22
Nevado Anallajsi is a stratovolcano in Bolivia. The date of its last eruption is unknown, but its youngest lava flows appear to have erupted from a vent on the north flank of the mountain. The main composition of the volcano is andesitic and dacitic. It overlies a plateau which is composed of ignimbrite. The volcano covers an area of 368.8 square kilometres (142.4 sq mi) and is 10.2 mya old based on its erosion state, while other estimates indicate an age of 2.6 mya. (Full article...) -
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Pico Mucuñuque is a mountain in the Andes of Venezuela. It has a height of 4,609 metres. (Full article...) -
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The royal cinclodes (Cinclodes aricomae) is a Critically Endangered passerine bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia and Peru. (Full article...) -
Image 25
The Nevado del Quindío is an inactive volcano located in the Central Cordillera of the Andes in central Colombia. The summit marks the tripoint of the departments of Risaralda, Quindío and Tolima, and is also the highest point of the departments of Risaralda and Quindío. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the Los Nevados National Natural Park, which is a wildlife sanctuary. There are no historical records of any eruption. The andesitic volcano is located on top of the Palestina Fault.
The snow fields and glaciers in the mountain are decreasing in a progressive way, about ten percent annually since the first scientific measures in the late 1980s, presumably because of global warming. (Full article...)
Did you know...
- ... that the 1930s Polish Andean expeditions have been credited with several first ascents and the tracing of a new route to the summit of Aconcagua, the Andes' highest peak?
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General images
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Image 1Pico Humboldt at sunset (from Andes)
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Image 2Topographic map of the Andes by the NASA. The southern and northern ends of the Andes are not shown. The Bolivian Orocline is visible as a bend in the coastline and the Andes lower half of the map. (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 7Paleogeography of the Late Cretaceous South America. Areas subject to the Andean orogeny are shown in light grey while the stable cratons are shown as grey squares. The sedimentary formations of Los Alamitos and La Colonia that formed in the Late Cretaceous are indicated. (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 9Simplified sketch of the present-situation along most of the Andes (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 13Bolivian Andes (from Andes)
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Image 15The seaward tilting of the sedimentary strata of Salto del Fraile Formation in Peru was caused by the Andean orogeny. (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 17Syncline next to Nordenskjöld Lake in Torres del Paine National Park. The syncline formed during the Andean orogeny. (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 19Irrigating land in the Peruvian Andes (from Andes)
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Image 20Aerial view of Valle Carbajal in the Tierra del Fuego. The Andes range is about 200 km (124 mi) wide throughout its length, except in the Bolivian flexure where it is about 640 kilometres (398 mi) wide. (from Andes)
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Image 21Map of a north-south sea-parallel pattern of rock ages in western Colombia. This pattern is a result of the Andean orogeny. (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 22Ulluco: Common crop of the Andean region (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 25A male Andean cock-of-the-rock, a species found in humid Andean forests and the national bird of Peru (from Andes)
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Image 26Pacha Mama Ceremony (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 30Peruvian farmers sowing maize and beans (from Andes)
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Image 31Mashua tubers (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 33Central Andes (from Andes)
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