The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world and boasts some of the highest peaks. The range is also known for its volcanoes, ruins of long-ago civilizations and the source of a malaria treatment.
What are 3 interesting facts about the Andes mountains?
Andes Mountains: Facts & Related Content
The summit of Mount Chimborazo in the Andes is the planet’s tallest point when measured from the Earth’s center. The Andes are the longest mountain chain in the world. Potatoes and tomatoes originated in the Andes.
Why are the Andes mountains so important?
The Andes play a vital part in national economies, accounting for a significant proportion of the region’s GDP, providing large agricultural areas, mineral resources, and water for agriculture, hydroelectricity (Figure 1), domestic use, and some of the largest business centres in South America.
What are some features of the Andes mountains?
The following are the key characteristics of the Andes:
- longest mountain chain in the world.
- includes the Atacama desert, the driest desert in the world.
- includes the Andean Plateau, the second-highest plateau in the world.
- located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
What is the best description of the location of the Andes mountains?
Where are the Andes Mountains? The Andes Mountains line the western edge of South America, from Venezuela all the way along Chile to South America’s southern tip, crossing through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Why is it difficult to live in the Andes mountains?
The Andes mountains has the longest mountain ranges in the world.It is very high in the sky and nearly to the clouds. People in the Andes mountains have to adapt to the life style.In the Andes mountains it so high up there is not that much oxygen to inhale. This is a very hard environment to live in.
What lives on the Andes?
Here are just some of the amazing wildlife that thrives in the Andes:
- The Andean Condor. Few animals are as iconic, in the high Andes, as the spellbinding condor.
- The Llama.
- The Alpaca.
- The Guanaco.
- The Vicuña.
- The Viscacha.
- The Andean (Spectacled) Bear.
- The Mountain Tapir.
Why do people visit the Andes?
The Andes offer landscapes dotted with volcanoes. A quintessential South American experience is to climb and hike these high peaks.
Why Andes is known as the backbone of South America?
Extending through 7 South American nations – Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, the Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world. The terrain is of immense scale and variation – the Andes are the highest mountain range outside of Asia.
What makes tropical Andes unique?
Nearly one-sixth of all plant life on the planet is found here, and the Tropical Andes is home to more amphibians, birds and mammals than any other Biodiversity Hotspot on the planet. Its incredible biodiversity includes more than 1,500 bird species, nearly 500 reptile species and more than 800 amphibian species.
How would you describe the Andes?
The Andes Mountains are a series of extremely high plateaus surmounted by even higher peaks that form an unbroken rampart over a distance of some 5,500 miles (8,900 kilometres)—from the southern tip of South America to the continent’s northernmost coast on the Caribbean.
Who lives in the Andes mountains?
The inhabitants of the Ecuadorian Andes are mainly Quechua speakers and mestizos; there are small groups of Cañaris in the south and Salasacas in the north. Agriculture (corn [maize], potatoes, broad beans) is the main occupation; some indigenous peoples engage in ceramics and weaving.
Do the Andes have gold and silver?
The Andes are also the greatest source of mineral wealth in the world. Andean mines account for more than 45 percent of the world’s copper production, nearly 30 percent of the silver pro- duction, significant amounts of lead, zinc, and gold, and an array of industrial minerals and chemicals.
How many volcanoes are in the Andes mountains?
The Andean volcanic arc includes over 200 potentially active Quaternary volcanoes, and at least 12 giant caldera/ignimbrite systems, occurring in four separate segments referred to as the Northern, Central, Southern and Austral Volcanic Zones.
What is the most common rock of the Andes mountains?
The Andesite derives its name from Andes mountain ranges, which possess a large number of andesite rocks. Besides this mountain range, the Cordillera mountain range of North and Central America houses these rocks too.
What is the longest mountain on Earth?
The mid-ocean ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth.
The mid-ocean range stretches around the globe like the seam of a baseball. The longest mountain range on Earth is called the mid-ocean ridge. Spanning 40,389 miles around the globe, it’s truly a global landmark.
How cold does it get in the Andes?
In winter the temperatures usually averages about less than 52°F. In the summer it usually averages 68°F. These temperatures are mainly from biomes around and in the Andes Mountains.
Does it snow in Andes?
Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features a blanket of fresh snow across the Andes mountains between Chile and Argentina.
What are 5 facts about the Andes mountains?
10 Fascinating Facts About the Andes Mountains
- The Andes Mountains are so much more than just one mountain range.
- Most Andean peaks are volcanic.
- The world’s highest/largest/biggest etc is probably here.
- The Andes are a haven of biodiversity.
- The Andes is the source of the astounding Amazon River.
What do Andes people eat?
Andean cuisine abounds with stews, soups, meats, and exquisite desserts made from corn, milk and fruits. Combining the high nutritional value of the Andean ingredients in a traditional earthen pot over a wood fire to create the most delicious dishes of this hearty cuisine would be any chef’s dream.
What is the rarest animal in the Andes?
The Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) is a small wild cat native to the high Andes that has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because fewer than 1,500 individuals are thought to exist in the wild. It is traditionally considered a sacred animal by indigenous Aymara and Quechua people.