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
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...) -
Image 2Illimani is a mountain in the Khari Khari mountain range of the Bolivian Andes, about 5,030 m (16,503 ft) high. It is situated south-east of Potosí in the Potosí Department, Tomás Frías Province, Potosí Municipality. Illimani lies south-west of the mountain Uma Jalanta, north-east of Challwiri Lake and north of Illimani Lake. (Full article...)
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Image 3Touching the Void is a 2003 docudrama survival film directed by Kevin Macdonald and starring Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron, and Ollie Ryall. The plot concerns Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' near-fatal descent after making the first successful ascent of the West Face of Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes, in 1985. It is based on Simpson's 1988 book of the same name.
Critically acclaimed, Touching the Void was listed in PBS's "100 Greatest Documentaries of All Time". The Guardian described it as "the most successful documentary in British cinema history". (Full article...) -
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Llullaillaco (Spanish pronunciation: [ʎuʎajˈʎako]) is a dormant stratovolcano on the border between Argentina (Salta Province) and Chile (Antofagasta Region). It lies in the Puna de Atacama, a region of tall volcanic peaks on a high plateau close to the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places in the world. Its maximum elevation is most commonly given as 6723 m, making it the second- or third-highest volcano in the world. Despite its height, it is not clear whether the volcano has any glaciers or merely patches of perennial snow and ice. Between 3700 m and 5000 m elevation there is a sparse plant cover, while at lower altitudes the climate is too dry for plants to grow. A species of mouse on Llullaillaco is the highest-living known vertebrate species.
The volcano formed during the Pleistocene in two stages, named Llullaillaco I and Llullaillaco II. The oldest rocks are about 1.5 million years old. About 150,000 years ago, the volcano's southeastern flank collapsed, generating a debris avalanche that reached as far as 25 km from the summit. During the last stage, three conspicuous lava flows were emplaced on the summit. The youngest dated rocks are 930 ± 140 years old, but there are reports of activity from the 19th century. (Full article...) -
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Nevado del Huila (/nɛˈvɑːdoʊ dɛl ˈwiːlə/, Spanish pronunciation: [neˈβaðo ðel ˈwila]) at 5,364 metres (17,598 ft), is the highest volcano in Colombia, located at the tripoint of the departments of Huila, Tolima and Cauca. It is visible from the city of Cali. The andesitic volcano is located on top of the Ibagué Batholith.
After being dormant for more than 500 years, the volcano showed heavy signs of activity in 2007 and 2008. As of February 20, 2007, there were more than 7000 "minor" seismic events, and a high state of alert was in place for the departments of Cauca, Huila, Caldas and Valle del Cauca. The volcano erupted twice in April 2007, once in April 2008 and again in November 2008. Any eruption would affect the small villages around the volcano, mostly Páez, where their inhabitants still have in memory the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano and the destruction of Armero. (Full article...) -
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Nevado Juncal is a mountain at the border of Argentina and Chile, at the head of Aconcagua Val. It has a height of 5,953 metres (19,531 ft). It is located at La Yesera, Los Andes Department, Valparaíso Region, at the Central Andes. The mountain hosts several glaciers including the Juncal Norte and Juncal Sur. (Full article...) -
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Mount Hudson (Spanish: Volcán Hudson, Spanish: Cerro Hudson, Monte Hudson) is a volcano in the rugged mountains of southern Chile. Lying in the Southern Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it was formed by the subduction of the oceanic Nazca Plate under the continental South American Plate. The Nazca Plate ends there at the Chile Triple Junction; south of Hudson is a smaller volcano, followed by a long gap without active volcanoes that separates the Southern Volcanic Zone from the Austral Volcanic Zone. Hudson has the form of a 10-kilometre-wide (6-mile) volcanic caldera filled with ice. The Huemules Glacier emerges from the northwestern side of the caldera. The volcano has erupted rocks ranging from basalt to rhyolite, but large parts of the caldera are formed by non-volcanic rocks.
The volcano erupted numerous times in the late Pleistocene and Holocene, forming widespread tephra deposits both in the proximity of Hudson and in the wider region, and is the most active volcano in the region. The last eruption was in 2011. (Full article...) -
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Doña Juana (Spanish: Volcán Doña Juana) is a stratovolcano, located within the Doña Juana-Cascabel Volcanic Complex National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Complejo Volcánico Doña Juana-Cascabel) in Nariño, Colombia.
With a previous eruption of VEI 4, Doña Juana is rated as a "large" volcano of "cataclysmic" destructive power. During its last eruption, in 1906, more than 100 people were killed and many houses were destroyed. (Full article...) -
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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 10
Artesonraju is a pyramidal mountain peak located near the city of Caraz in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in the Peruvian Andes. It is located at the Peruvian province of Huaylas and its slopes are within two cities: Santa Cruz and Caraz. Its summit has an elevation of 6,025 metres (19,767 ft) (or 5,999 metres (19,682 ft) according to the IGN-Peru map). It is one of many prominent peaks (2772 metres) located within the boundaries of Peru's Huascarán National Park.
Artesonraju has two distinguished climbing routes. Due to their difficulties, Artesonraju is seldom successfully climbed in comparison to other well known mountains in the Cordillera Blanca. This mountain is the inspiration for the current production logo for Paramount Pictures. (Full article...) -
Image 11
Cotopaxi (Spanish pronunciation: [kotoˈpaksi]) is an active stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located near Latacunga city of Cotopaxi Province, about 50 km (31 mi) south of Quito, and 31 km (19 mi) northeast of the city of Latacunga, Ecuador. It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft). Cotopaxi is among the highest active volcanoes in the world.
Cotopaxi is known to have erupted 87 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys formed by lahars (mudflows) around the volcano. An ongoing eruption began on 21 October 2022. (Full article...) -
Image 12
Telmatobius is a genus of frogs native to the Andean highlands in South America, where they are found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northwestern Argentina and northern Chile. It is the only genus in the family Telmatobiidae. Some sources recognize Batrachophrynus as a valid genus distinct from Telmatobius. (Full article...) -
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Coropuna is a dormant compound volcano located in the Andes mountains of southeast-central Peru. The upper reaches of Coropuna consist of several perennially snowbound conical summits, lending it the name Nevado Coropuna in Spanish. The complex extends over an area of 240 square kilometres (93 sq mi) and its highest summit reaches an altitude of 6,377 metres (20,922 ft) above sea level. This makes the Coropuna complex the third-highest of Peru. Its thick ice cap is the most extensive in Earth's tropical zone, with several outlet glaciers stretching out to lower altitudes. Below an elevation of 5,000 metres (16,000 ft), there are various vegetation belts which include trees, peat bogs, grasses and also agricultural areas and pastures.
The Coropuna complex consists of several stratovolcanoes. These are composed chiefly of ignimbrites and lava flows on a basement formed by Middle Miocene ignimbrites and lava flows. The Coropuna complex has been active for at least five million years, with the bulk of the current cone having been formed during the Quaternary. Coropuna has had two or three Holocene eruptions 2,100 ± 200 and either 1,100 ± 100 or 700 ± 200 years ago which generated lava flows, plus an additional eruption which may have taken place some 6,000 years ago. Current activity occurs exclusively in the form of hot springs. (Full article...) -
Image 14
Los Nevados National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados) is a national park located in the Cordillera Central of the Colombian Andes. The park surrounds the northern volcanic complex formed by Nevado del Ruiz, Nevado del Tolima, Nevado de Santa Isabel, the paramillos of Cisne, Santa Rosa and Quindío and the Cerro Bravo and Cerro Machín.
The park is located in the departments of Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima and spans between the municipalities Manizales, Villamaría, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Pereira, Salento, Villahermosa, Anzoátegui, Santa Isabel, Murillo, Ibagué and Casabianca. (Full article...) -
Image 15
Tungurahua (/tʊŋɡʊˈrɑːwə/; from Quichua tunguri (throat) and rahua (fire), "Throat of Fire") is an active stratovolcano located in the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador. The volcano gives its name to the province of Tungurahua. Volcanic activity restarted on August 19, 1999, and is ongoing , with several eruptive episodes since then, the most recent lasting from February 26 to March 16, 2016. (Full article...) -
Image 16
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
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...) -
Image 18
Cordón del Azufre is an inactive complex volcano located in the Central Andes, at the border of Argentina and Chile. It consists of three stages of volcanic cones and associated lava flows, and its activity is a consequence of the subduction of the Nazca Plate underneath the South American Plate. North of it are the dormant volcano Lastarria and the actively uplifting Lazufre region. (Full article...) -
Image 19
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...) -
Image 20
Sierra Nevada, also known as Sierra Nevada de Lagunas Bravas, is a major ignimbrite-lava dome complex which lies in both Chile and Argentina in one of the most remote parts of the Central Andes.
Activity in the complex started in Argentina and formed two stratovolcanoes. Later, 12 or more vents formed, some with craters up to 400 metres (1,300 ft) wide. Lava flows up to 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long with flow ridges are also found. It covers a total area of 225 km2. Radiometric dating has yielded ages of 1.7 ± 0.4 to 0.431 ± 0.012 million years ago, a lava flow from the neighbouring Azufrera Los Cuyanos volcano that is sometimes considered part of Sierra Nevada is 140,000 years old. Together with Cerro el Condor and Peinado it forms the Culampaja line, a line of volcanoes that reaches Cerro Blanco. Strong seismic attenuation is observed beneath Sierra Nevada. Hydrothermally altered rocks in Sierra Nevada may be the source of sulfate and arsenic in the Juncalito and Negro rivers, and heat sources for regional hot springs. The snowline in the area lies at 5,800 metres (19,000 ft) altitude at Cumbre del Laudo. (Full article...) -
Image 21
The Titicaca orestias, Lake Titicaca orestias, or Lake Titicaca flat-headed fish (Orestias cuvieri), also known by its native name amanto, is a likely extinct freshwater killifish from Lake Titicaca in South America. It belongs in the pupfish genus Orestias, endemic to lakes, rivers and streams in the Andean highlands. With a total length of up to 27 cm (10.6 in), it was the largest member in that genus. In the hope that an undiscovered population remains, it is listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN. Despite its common name, it is not the only Orestias from Lake Titicaca.
Its mouth was nearly turned upwards, thereby giving the flat head a concave shape. The head took up nearly a third of the whole body length. The upperside was greenish-yellow to umber. The lower jaw was black. Its scales were oddly light coloured at their centre. The scales of the young were blotched. (Full article...) -
Image 22
Orestias is a genus of pupfish. Older systematics classified them into the own family Orestiidae. They are found in lakes, rivers and springs in the Andean highlands of South America, and several species are considered threatened. They are egg-laying fish that feed on small animals and plant matter. The largest species can reach a total length of 27 cm (10.6 in), but most remain far smaller. Their most characteristic feature is the absence of the ventral fin, although this is shared by a few other pupfish. Despite their moderate to small size, they are important to local fisheries and a few species are farmed.
Several species are locally and colloquially known as carache. The name of the genus is a reference to Orestes, a Greek mythological character who Valenciennes described as the "nymph of the mountains". (Full article...) -
Image 23
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...) -
Image 24Irruputuncu is a volcano in the commune of Pica, Tamarugal Province, Tarapacá Region, Chile, as well as San Pedro de Quemes Municipality, Nor Lípez Province, Potosí Department, Bolivia. The mountain's summit is 5,163 m (16,939 ft) high and has two summit craters—the southernmost 200 m (660 ft)-wide one has active fumaroles. The volcano also features lava flows, block and ash flows and several lava domes. The volcano is part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ).
The volcano has been active during the Pleistocene and Holocene, with major eruptions occurring 258.2 ± 48.8 ka ago, between 55.9 ka and 140 ka ago and 1570 ± 900 BP (380 ± 900 AD), which were accompanied by the formation of ignimbrites. Historical volcanic activity is less clear; an eruption in 1989 is considered unconfirmed. Plumes linked to phreatomagmatic eruptive activity were observed on 26 November 1995 and 1 September 2003. Seismic activity is also observed on Irruputuncu, and ongoing fumarolic activity releasing 21–50 t/d (0.24–0.57 long ton/ks) of sulfur dioxide has left sulfur deposits in the active crater. (Full article...) -
Image 25
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...)
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 2Map 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 3Pico Humboldt at sunset (from Andes)
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Image 7Mashua tubers (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 8Irrigating land in the Peruvian Andes (from Andes)
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Image 10Pacha Mama Ceremony (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 11Bolivian Andes (from Andes)
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Image 14Paleogeography 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 15Peruvian farmers sowing maize and beans (from Andes)
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Image 16Aerial 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 20Central Andes (from Andes)
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Image 21Simplified sketch of the present-situation along most of the Andes (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 24Topographic 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 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 28The 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 29Syncline 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 33Ulluco: Common crop of the Andean region (from Andean agriculture)
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Mountain passes of the Andes | |
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Bolivia-Chile passes |
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Argentina-Chile passes | |
Note: Passes are ordered by latitude from north to south |
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