Portal:Andes
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 South to North through seven South American countries: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.
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 are the highest mountain range which is outside of Asia. The range's highest peak, 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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Cerro Castillo Dynevor, also known as Castillo Dynevor is located on the northwest coast of Skyring Sound, in Magallanes Region, Chile. It is named after its resemblance with Dynevor Castle in Wales, which was noticed by British explorers in 1830.
Its access is quite harsh due to the nature that all roads end about 30 km from it, and the rest of the way must be done either on a 4×4 vehicle, motorcycle, horse or on foot, either way the appropriate track is just by the shore, not through the woods, as they are too dense. (Full article...) -
Cerro Escorial is a stratovolcano at the border of Argentina and Chile. It is part of the Corrida de Cori volcanic group and its youngest member. A well-preserved 1-kilometre-wide (0.6 mi) crater forms its summit area. Lava flows are found on the Chilean and smaller ones on the Argentinian side, the former reaching as far as 3–4 kilometres (1.9–2.5 mi) from the volcano. One of these is dated 342,000 years ago by argon-argon dating.
Off the western coast of South America, the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South America Plate. This process has given rise to the Andes mountain chain and the Altiplano-Puna high plateau, which formed through shortening of the crust that lasted until 1 million years ago. Cerro Escorial rises from the Puna, which is dissected at Cerro Escorial by the Archibarca lineament; it is a strike-slip fault that has facilitated the ascent of magma. (Full article...) -
Olca is a stratovolcano on the border of Chile and Bolivia. It lies in the middle of a 15 km long ridge composed of several stratovolcanos. Cerro Minchincha lies to the west and Paruma to the east. It is also close to the pre-Holocene Cerro Paruma. It is andesitic and dacitic in composition, with lava flows extending several kilometres north of the peak. The only activity from the ridge during historical times was a flank eruption from 1865 to 1867. The exact source of this eruption is unclear. (Full article...) -
The Wet Andes (Spanish: Andes húmedos) is a climatic and glaciological subregion of the Andes. Together with the Dry Andes it is one of the two subregions of the Argentine and Chilean Andes. The Wet Andes runs from a latitude of 35°S to Cape Horn at 56°S. According to Luis Lliboutry the Wet Andes can be classified after the absence of penitentes. In Argentina well developed penitentes are found as south as on Lanín Volcano (40°S). Another difference is that the Wet Andes is largely devoid of rock glaciers. The glaciers of the Wet Andes have a far more stable line of equilibrium than those of the Dry Andes due to summer precipitations, low thermal oscillations and an overall high moisture. (Full article...) -
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...) -
The Sierra de La Culata is a mountain range in the largest massif in Venezuela, the Cordillera de Mérida, which in turn is part of the northern extent of the Cordillera de los Andes (Andes Mountains). The Sierra la Culata includes some of the highest peaks in Venezuela, such as Pico Piedras Blancas, Pico Pan de Azúcar, and Collado del Cóndor.
It is located between the states of Mérida and Trujillo. Most of the lagoons are a result of the Mérida glaciation. (Full article...) -
Patilla Pata is a stratovolcano in the Oruro Department in Bolivia. It is situated in the Sajama Province, in the west of the Curahuara de Carangas Municipality, at the border with Chile. Patilla Pata lies south-west of the mountain Jisk'a Kunturiri, north-east of the lake Q'asiri Quta (Khasiri Kkota) and the mountain Qullqi Warani, west of the little lake Sura Pata, south-east of the mountains Laram Q'awa, Kunturiri and Milluni and south of the little lake named Ch'iyar Quta.
The river Junt'uma K'uchu (Aymara junt'u warm, hot, uma water, k'uchu corner, "warm water corner", Junthuma Khuchu) originates south of Patilla Pata. It flows to the south-east as a right affluent of the Sajama River. (Full article...) -
Simplified sketch of the present-situation along most of the Andes
The Andean orogeny (Spanish: Orogenia andina) is an ongoing process of orogeny that began in the Early Jurassic and is responsible for the rise of the Andes mountains. The orogeny is driven by a reactivation of a long-lived subduction system along the western margin of South America. On a continental scale the Cretaceous (90 Ma) and Oligocene (30 Ma) were periods of re-arrangements in the orogeny. The details of the orogeny vary depending on the segment and the geological period considered. (Full article...) -
Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile. It is located in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, near El Chaltén village and Viedma Lake. It was first climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone. (Full article...) -
Cabaraya is a stratovolcano in Bolivia. It lies between the volcanoes Isluga and Tata Sabaya, immediately east of the border with Chile. (Full article...) -
Pico Humboldt is Venezuela's second highest peak, at 4,925 metres above sea level. It is located in the Sierra Nevada de Merida, in the Venezuelan Andes of (Mérida State). The peak, its sister peak Pico Bonpland, and the surrounding páramos are protected by the Sierra Nevada National Park. The mountain is named after German explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt. (Full article...) -
Map showing Iru Phutunqu on the border of Bolivia and Chile, south of the Umani
Iruputuncu (possibly from Aymara iru spiny Peruvian feather grass, phutunqu a small vessel or a hole, pit, crater) is a mountain in the Andes in the Cordillera Occidental on the border of Bolivia and Chile. The Chilean side is in the Tarapacá Region, and the Bolivian side is in the Potosí Department, Daniel Campos Province, Llica Municipality. Iruputuncu is southeast of Mount Candelaria, west of the Salar de Uyuni salt flat and south of the Umani. It is about 4,200 m (13,780 ft) high. (Full article...) -
Wayna 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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Acamarachi (also known as Pili) is a 6,046-metre (19,836 ft) high volcano in northern Chile. In this part of Chile, it is the highest volcano. Its name means "black moon". It is a volcano in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, a zone of strong volcanic activity during the last million years. Old volcanoes in the area are well-preserved, due to the dry climate.
Acamarachi itself is a cone-shaped volcano with steep upper flanks and a lava dome on its northern side. While there is no indication of historical activity and the flank lava flows are old, some lava flows around the summit crater and a lava coulee north of Acamarachi on the saddle between Acamarachi and Colachi volcano may be postglacial in age. Acamarachi is formed by andesitic and dacitic rocks. (Full article...) -
The Llao Llao Hotel is located in the tourist resort of San Carlos de Bariloche within the Río Negro, Argentina.
This famous hotel is situated in the foothills of the Andes on a hill between the Moreno Lake and Nahuel Huapi lakes. (Full article...) -
Runtuy (Quechua for "to hail" or "to lay an egg") is a mountain in the eastern extensions of the Cordillera Blanca in the Andes of Peru which reaches a height of approximately 4,000 m (13,000 ft). It is located in the Ancash Region, Huari Province, Huari District, northwest of Huari. (Full article...)
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Cumbal is a stratovolcano of the Caribe Terrane, located at the Nudo de los Pastos in Nariño, Colombia. It is the southernmost historically active volcano of Colombia and is together with Chiles and Azufral one of the few volcanoes of the Western Ranges. The volcano is dominated by andesites. (Full article...) -
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...) -
Lanín is an ice-clad, cone-shaped stratovolcano on the border of Argentina and Chile. It forms part of two national parks: Lanín in Argentina and Villarrica in Chile. As a part of the flag and anthem of the Argentine province of Neuquén, it serves as a symbol for the region. Although the date of its last eruption is not known, it is estimated to have occurred within the last 10,000 years. Following the 1906 Valparaíso earthquake a local newspaper reported the volcano to have erupted, but a work published in 1917 by Karl Sapper disputed this.
The ascent is regulated by the management of Argentine National Parks and the Argentine National Gendarmerie and is technically relatively simple but has a much higher level of exposure than the neighbouring volcanoes. The nearest towns, usually employed as a base for climbers, are Pucón in Chile and Junín de los Andes in Argentina. (Full article...) -
Nevado Ojos del Salado is a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. It is the highest volcano on Earth and the highest peak in Chile. The upper reaches of Ojos del Salado consist of several overlapping lava domes, lava flows and volcanic craters, with sparse ice cover. The complex extends over an area of 70–160 square kilometres (27–62 sq mi) and its highest summit reaches an altitude of 6,893 metres (22,615 ft) above sea level. Numerous other volcanoes rise around Ojos del Salado.
Being close to the Arid Diagonal of South America, the mountain has extremely dry conditions, which prevent the formation of substantial glaciers and a permanent snow cover. Despite the arid climate, there is a permanent crater lake about 100 m (330 ft) in diameter at an elevation of 6,480 metres (21,260 ft)-6,500 metres (21,300 ft) within the summit crater and east of the main summit. This is the highest lake of any kind in the world. Owing to its altitude and the desiccated climate, the mountain lacks vegetation. (Full article...) -
The Pico Pan de Azúcar, at 4680 meters above sea level, is the ninth highest mountain of Venezuela, and the third highest of the Sierra de la Culata range in the Mérida State. Its name, which translates as "Bread of Sugar", is due to the sandy slopes of the mountain, which resembles "Pan dulce", a kind of bread sprinkled with sugar eaten in the country. The summit offers a scenic view, including Lake Maracaibo, Sierra Nevada de Mérida and the surrounding mountains of the Sierra de la Culata. (Full article...)
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Yerupajá is a mountain of the Huayhuash mountain range in west central Peru, part of the Andes. It is located at Áncash, Bolognesi Province, Lauricocha Province. At 6,635 metres (21,768 ft) (other sources: 6,617 m (21,709 ft)) it is the second-highest in Peru and the highest in the Huayhuash mountain range. The summit is the highest point in the Amazon River watershed, and was first reached in 1950 by Jim Maxwell and Dave Harrah, and its northern peak (Yerupajá Norte) in 1968 by the Wellingtonian Roger Bates and Graeme Dingle. Many visitors consider Yerupajá to be the most spectacular peak in South America.
There have been only a few successful ascents of the peak because it is one of the hardest Andean high peaks to climb. The most popular route is the southwest face. The approach is normally made from Huaraz southwards via Chiquián and Jahuacocha. (Full article...) -
Rasac (possibly Quechua for toad) is a mountain in the Huayhuash mountain range in west central Peru, part of the Andes. It has a summit elevation of 6,017 metres (19,741 ft), although other sources cite a height of 6,040 metres (19,816 ft). Rasac is a long, relatively squat mountain on the western edge of the Huayhuash range, across the glacier from the tallest peak in the range, Yerupajá. Although it is a 6,000 metre mountain, Rasac's broad profile is dwarfed by Yerupajá. (Full article...) -
Touching the Void is a 1988 book by Joe Simpson, recounting his and Simon Yates's near fatal descent after climbing the 6,344-metre (20,814 ft) peak Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Approximately 15% of the book is written by Yates. It has sold over a million copies and has been translated into over 20 languages. (Full article...)
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Sangay (also known as Macas, Sanagay, or Sangai) is an active stratovolcano in central Ecuador. It exhibits mostly strombolian activity. Geologically, Sangay marks the southern boundary of the Northern Volcanic Zone, and its position straddling two major pieces of crust accounts for its high level of activity. Sangay's approximately 500,000-year-old history is one of instability; two previous versions of the mountain were destroyed in massive flank collapses, evidence of which still litters its surroundings today.
Due to its remoteness, Sangay hosts a significant biological community with fauna such as the mountain tapir, giant otter, Andean cock-of-the-rock and king vulture. Since 1979, its ecological community has been protected as part of the Sangay National Park. Although climbing the mountain is hampered by its remoteness, poor weather conditions, river flooding, and the danger of falling ejecta, the volcano is regularly climbed, a feat first achieved by Robert T. Moore in 1929. (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
The following are images from various Andes-related articles on Wikipedia.
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A 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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Bolivian Andes (from Andes) -
Pico Humboldt at sunset (from Andes) -
View of Cuernos del Paine in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (from Andes) -
Parinacota, Bolivia/Chile (from Andes) -
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Simplified sketch of the present-situation along most of the Andes (from Andean orogeny) -
Ulluco: Common crop of the Andean region (from Andean agriculture) -
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Paleogeography 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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Frederic Edwin Church, Heart of the Andes, 1859. (from Andes) -
Pacha Mama Ceremony (from Andean agriculture) -
Peruvian farmers sowing maize and beans (from Andes) -
Aerial 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) -
Mashua tubers (from Andean agriculture) -
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Syncline next to Nordenskjöld Lake in Torres del Paine National Park. The syncline formed during the Andean orogeny. (from Andean orogeny) -
Irrigating land in the Peruvian Andes (from Andes) -
Huayna Potosí, Bolivia (from Andes) -
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Central Andes (from Andes) -
The 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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Nevado del Huila, Colombia (from Andes) -
Map 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) -
Laguna de Sonso tropical dry forest in Northern Andes (from Andes) -
Map of the Andean region of South America (from Andean agriculture) -
Topographic 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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