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 South to North through seven South American countries.: Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and western 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 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
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...) -
Image 2
Rondoy (possibly from Quechua runtuy: "to hail" or "to lay an egg") is a 5,870-metre-high (19,259 ft) mountain in the north of the Huayhuash mountain range in the Andes of Peru. It is located in the Ancash Region, Bolognesi Province, Pacllón District, and in the Huánuco Region, Lauricocha Province, Queropalca District. Rondoy lies north of Yerupajá and Jirishanca and southwest of Lake Mitococha. (Full article...) -
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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...) -
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The Cordillera Paine is a mountain group in Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia. The cordillera is located 280 km (170 mi) north of Punta Arenas, and about 1,960 km (1,220 mi) south of the Chilean capital Santiago. It belongs to the Commune of Torres del Paine in Última Esperanza Province of Magallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. No accurate surveys have been published, and published elevations have been claimed to be seriously inflated, so most of the elevations given on this page are approximate. Paine means "blue" in the native Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and is pronounced PIE-nay. (Full article...) -
Image 5
Azufral is a stratovolcano located in the department of Nariño in southern Colombia, 12 km (7 mi) west of the town of Túquerres. It is the only volcano of the Western Ranges of the Colombian Andes. Its name derives from the Spanish word for sulfur, azufre. The volcano is considered semi-dormant but there are numerous fumaroles in the summit crater. The summit of the volcano has an altitude of 4,070 metres (13,350 ft), and the north-western side of the crater contains a crescent-shaped lake named Laguna Verde (English: Green Lake) at 3,970 m (13,025 ft). The lake is 1,100 m (0.68 mi) long and 600 metres (2,000 ft) wide. and its bright green color is a result of the sulfur and iron-based deposits in the crater. There are also two other much smaller lakes in the crater, Laguna Negra (English: Black Lake) and Laguna Cristal (English: Crystal Lake).
The volcano lies within a nature reserve, the Reserva Natural del Azufral, created in 1990. The reserve covers an area of 5,800 hectares (58 km2) and is free of charge to enter. As Azufral is semi-dormant, there are no restrictions on ascending the volcano and visiting Laguna Verde: there is a road that climbs to within 1.5 kilometers (1 mi) from the summit, and the remaining distance can be covered on foot via a trail. (Full article...) -
Image 6
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 7Touching 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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Image 8
The Dry Andes (Spanish: Andes áridos) is a climatic and glaciological subregion of the Andes. Together with the Wet Andes it is one of the two subregions of the Argentine and Chilean Andes. The Dry Andes runs from the Atacama Desert in northern Chile and Northwest Argentina south to a latitude of 35°S in Chile. In Argentina the Dry Andes reaches 40°S due to the leeward effect of the Andes. According to Luis Lliboutry
the Dry Andes can be defined by the distribution of penitentes. The southernmost well-developed penitentes are found on Lanín Volcano.
Rock glaciers occur in parts of the Dry Andes, but are lacking in the more southern Wet Andes. In the Dry Andes, ordinary glaciers develop usually at higher altitudes than rock glaciers. Around Aconcagua rock glaciers reach altitudes as a low as 900 m a.s.l. (Full article...) -
Image 9
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...) -
Image 10
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 11
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 12
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...) -
Image 13
Licancabur (Spanish pronunciation: [likaŋkaˈβuɾ]) is a stratovolcano on the border between Bolivia and Chile, south of the Sairecabur volcano and west of Juriques. Part of the Andean Central Volcanic Zone, it has a prominent, 5,916-metre (19,409 ft)-high cone. A 400–500-metre (1,300–1,600 ft) summit crater containing Licancabur Lake, a crater lake which is among the highest lakes in the world, caps the volcano. There are no glaciers owing to the arid climate. Numerous animal species and plants live on the mountain.
Licancabur formed atop of Pleistocene ignimbrites and has been active during the Holocene, after the ice ages. Three stages of lava flows emanate from the edifice and have a young appearance. Although no historic eruptions of the volcano are known, lava flows extending into Laguna Verde have been dated to 13,240 ± 100 BP and there may be residual heat in the mountain. The volcano has primarily erupted andesite, with small amounts of dacite and basaltic andesite. (Full article...) -
Image 14
Laram Q'awa (Aymara larama blue, q'awa little river, ditch, crevice, fissure, gap in the earth, "blue brook" or "blue ravine", Hispanicized spellings Laram Khaua, Larancagua) is a 5,182-metre-high (17,001 ft) mountain in the Andes. According to the Bolivian IGM map 1:50,000 'Nevados Payachata Hoja 5739-I' it is situated on Bolivian terrain in the La Paz Department, Pacajes Province (Charaña Municipality), at the border with Chile. It lies north-west of the mountains Kunturiri, Phaq'u Q'awa and another mountain on the border named Laram Q'awa (Laram Khaua). One of three different rivers of this area called Kunturiri (Condoriri) originates north-east of the mountain near Phaq'u Q'awa. It flows in a bow along the northern slopes of Laram Q'awa towards Chile. (Full article...) -
Image 15
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...) -
Image 16
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...) -
Image 17
Yerupajá is a mountain of the Huayhuash mountain range in west central Peru, part of the Andes. It's 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...) -
Image 18Paruma is a stratovolcano that lies on the border of Bolivia and Chile. It is part of a ridge that contains several stratovolcanos. Paruma lies at the eastern end of the ridge, with Olca to its west. The older volcano Paruma lies to east of Paruma. Paruma has clearly been active during the Holocene, with many morphologically young lava flows on its flanks. It also has persistent fumaroles. One lava flow in particular extends for 7 kilometres to the south-east of the peak. Historical activity along the ridge has been confined to one eruption from 1865 to 1867, the character of which is not precisely known. (Full article...)
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Image 19
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 20
Acotango is the central and highest of a group of stratovolcanoes straddling the border of Bolivia and Chile. It is 6,052 metres (19,856 ft) high. The group is known as Kimsa Chata and consists of three mountains: Acotango, Umurata (5,730 metres (18,799 ft)) north of it and Capurata (5,990 metres (19,652 ft)) south of it.
The group lies along a north–south alignment. The Acotango volcano is heavily eroded, but a lava flow on its northern flank is morphologically young, suggesting Acotango was active in the Holocene. Later research has suggested that lava flow may be of Pleistocene age. Argon-argon dating has yielded ages of 192,000±8,000 and 241,000±27,000 years on dacites from Acotango. Glacial activity has exposed parts of the inner volcano, which is hydrothermally altered. Glacial moraines lie at an altitude of 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) but a present ice cap is only found past 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) of altitude. (Full article...) -
Image 21
Chimborazo (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃimboˈɾaso] ⓘ) is an inactive stratovolcano situated in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D. Although not the tallest mountain in the Andes or on Earth relative to sea level, its summit is the farthest point on Earth's surface from the Earth's center, due to its location along the planet's equatorial bulge. Chimborazo's height is 6,263 m (20,548 ft), well below that of Mount Everest (8,849 m).
Chimborazo is the highest mountain in Ecuador and the 39th highest peak in the entire Andes. It is a popular destination for mountaineering due to its challenging climbing routes, which involve traversing snow, ice, and rocky terrain. (Full article...) -
Image 22
Santa Isabel (Spanish: Nevado de Santa Isabel) is a shield volcano located in Tolima, Colombia, southwest of Nevado del Ruiz volcano. The volcano is located over the Palestina Fault, that crosscuts the underlying El Bosque Batholith of Eocene age, dated at 49.1 ± 1.7 Ma. (Full article...) -
Image 23
Pico El Águila or Collado del Cóndor is the milestone that stands at the highest elevation on the Venezuelan Transandean Highway (a branch of the Pan-American Highway) in the Cordillera de Mérida of Venezuela. Nearby stands a monument, sculpted by a Colombian artist, Marcos León Mariño, depicting a condor, commemorating an event in the campaign of the Liberator, Simón Bolivar. It is located in the state of Mérida and has an altitude of 4,118 meters. (Full article...) -
Image 24
Pico El León is a mountain in the Andes of Venezuela. It has a height of 4740 metres. (Full article...) -
Image 25
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...)
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 1Irrigating land in the Peruvian Andes (from Andes)
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Image 2The 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 3Bolivian Andes (from Andes)
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Image 4Topographic 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 6Simplified sketch of the present-situation along most of the Andes (from Andean orogeny)
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Image 11Mashua tubers (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 13Map 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 16Ulluco: Common crop of the Andean region (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 17Syncline 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 19Aerial 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 20Peruvian farmers sowing maize and beans (from Andes)
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Image 23Pico Humboldt at sunset (from Andes)
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Image 26Pacha Mama Ceremony (from Andean agriculture)
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Image 28Paleogeography 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 30Central Andes (from Andes)
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Image 33A 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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