The Andes or, as they are called in Spanish South America, Cordilleras De Los Andes, or simply Cordilleras, are a range of mountains stretching along the whole of the west coast of South America, from Cape Horn to the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea. In absolute length (7200 km) no single chain of mountains approaches the Andes, and only a certain number of the higher peaks of the Himalayan chain rise higher above the sea level.
The Southern Andes present a lofty main chain, with a minor chain running parallel to it on the east, reaching from Tierra del Fuego and the Straits of Magellan, northward to about latitude 28 degrees south, and rising in Aconcagua to a height of 6868 meters. North of this is the double chain of the Central Andes, inclosing the wide and lofty plateaus of Bolivia and Peru, which lie at an elevation of more than 3650 meters above the sea. The mountain system is here at its broadest, being about 800 km across. Here are also several very lofty peaks, as Illampu or Sorata (6550 meters), Sahama (6417 meters, Illimani (6408 meters). Further north the outer and inner ranges draw closer together, and in Ecuador there is but a single system of elevated masses, generally described as forming two parallel chains. In this section are crowded together a number of lofty peaks, most of them volcanoes, either extinct or active. Of the latter class are Pichincha (4852 meters), with a crater 760 meters deep; Tunguragua (5085 meters); Sangay (5322 meters); and Cotopaxi (5956 meters).
Northward of this section the Andes break into three distinct ranges, the eastmost running north-eastward into Venezuela, the west-most running north-westward to the Isthmus of Panama. In the central range is the volcano of Tolima (5383 meters).
The western slope of the Andes is generally exceedingly steep, the eastern much less so, the mountains sinking gradually to the plains. The whole range gives evidence of volcanic action, but it consists almost entirely of sedimentary rocks. Thus mountains may be found rising to the height of over 6000 meters, and fossiliferous to their summits (as Illimani and Sorata or Illampu). There are about thirty volcanoes in a state of activity. All the districts of the Andes system have suffered severely from earthquakes, towns having been either destroyed or greatly injured by these visitations. Peaks crowned with perpetual snow are seen all along the range, and glaciers are also met with, more especially from Aconcagua southwards. The passes are generally at a great height, the most important being from 3000 meters to 4,500 meters.
The Andes are extremely rich in the precious metals, gold, silver, copper, platinum, mercury, and tin all being wrought:
lead and iron are also found. The llama and its congeners - the guanaco, vicuna, and alpaca are characteristic of the Andes. Among birds, the condor is the most remarkable. The vegetation necessarily varies much according to elevation, latitude, rainfall, etc, but generally is rich and varied. Except in the south and north little rain falls on the western side of the range, and in the centre there is a considerable desert area. On the east side the rainfall is heavy in the equatorial regions, but in the south is very scanty or altogether deficient. From the Andes rise two of the largest water systems of the world - the Amazon and its affluents, and the La Plata and its affluents. Besides which, in the north, from its slopes flow the Magdalena to the Caribbean Sea, and some tributaries to the Orinoco. The mountain chain pressing so close upon the Pacific Ocean, no streams of importance flow from its western slopes. The number of lakes is not great; the largest and most important is that of Titicaca on the Bolivian plateau. In the Andes are towns at a greater elevation than anywhere else in the world, the highest being the silver mining town of Cerro de Pasco at 4350 meters, the next being Potosi.
Abbreviations
Gazetteer
Research Andes