Along much of their length, the Andes are split between two or three parallel ranges separated by lofty plateaus, and include both volcanic and nonvolcanic folded mountains.
What is found in the Andes mountains?
The diversity of animals in the Andes is high, with almost 600 species of mammals (13% endemic), more than 1,700 species of birds (about 1/3 endemic), more than 600 species of reptile (about 45% endemic), and almost 400 species of fish (about 1/3 endemic).
What type of landscape is the Andes?
The landscape in the central Andes Mountains, near the border between Chile and Argentina, is dominated by volcanoes and associated landforms. Layers of older sedimentary rocks are visible to the upper middle, and many volcanic cones show grooves where water has eroded the rock to form gullies.
What are two geographic features you find in the Andes mountains?
In southern Chile part of the cordillera descends beneath the sea and forms numerous islands. The Andes are studded with a number of volcanoes that form part of the Circum-Pacific chain known as the Ring of Fire. The Andes mountain system is the source of many rivers, including the Amazon and Pilcomayo.
What are the Andes mountains known for?
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 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 two plates formed the Andes?
The mountains have been formed as a result of the convergence of the Nazca plate and the South American plate. The heavier oceanic crust of the Nazca plate is pushed towards the South American plate, and because it is denser is subducted underneath.
What is the land like in the Andes?
The northern part of the Andes is rainy and warm. The southern part is rainy and cold and the central part is very dry. The mountains have a large influence on the climate in the surrounding areas; especially in the interior where the Andes borders the rainforest.
What are 3 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.
Does Andes have earthquakes?
The Andes have had three of the largest earthquakes ever recorded: on the border between Colombia and Ecuador in 1906, as well as in Chile, in 1960 and again in 2010. When will one of these major earthquakes happen there again? It is impossible to say… But scientists can now identify the areas where it will occur.
What are the physical features of the Andean region?
Mountains & Highlands
There are hundreds of peaks more than 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) tall, many of which are volcanic. The highest peak in the Andes, Aconcagua, stands at 6,962 meters (22,841 feet) and straddles the Argentina-Chile border. Aconcagua is the tallest mountain outside Asia.
What type of rocks are found in the Andes mountains?
The rocks run the gamut of sedimentary rocks, including: sandstones, siltstones, shales, limestones, and quartzites. Volumetrically and economically, Ordovician and Silurian shales and siltstones are probably the most important sequences (formed 500-440 million and 440-395 million years age, respectively).
What type of plate is the Andes mountains?
convergent plate boundary
Answer and Explanation: The type of plate boundary that created the Andes Mountains is a convergent plate boundary. This is where two tectonic plates are moving toward each other in the opposite direction, causing them to collide.
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.
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.
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.
Is the Andes mountains a desert?
The Atacama Desert (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains.
Atacama Desert | |
---|---|
Borders | Central Andean dry puna, Chilean matorral, and Sechura Desert |
Geography | |
Area | 104,741 km2 (40,441 sq mi) |
Country | Chile |
What are the Andes for kids?
The Andes are the longest exposed mountain range of the world (about 5500 miles!) and the second-highest after the Himalayas in Asia. The very tallest part (or peak) of the Andes is named Aconcagua, and it reaches 6962 metres above sea level.
How old is Andes?
The researchers found that Andes uplift began between 30 million and 20 million years ago.
How many mountains are in the Andes?
It consists of three mountain ranges that lie parallel to one another: the Cordillera Occidental, Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Oriental. These mountain ranges contain many active volcanoes, the lava from which has separated the central plateau into a string of several major basins.
Is Andes mountains convergent or divergent?
convergent boundary
Answer and Explanation: The Andes is a mountain range found in South America. The Andes Mountains were formed at a convergent boundary between an oceanic plate and a continental plate.