Throughout their length, the Andes Mountains are divided into many ranges by intervening depressions. Situated along the boundary between Argentina and Chile, and forming a part of the Principal Cordillera of the Southern Andes Mountains is, Mount Aconcagua - which rises to an elevation of 6,m and is considered as the tallest mountain in both the Western and Southern hemispheres.
It is believed that the Andes Mountain system formed due to the movement of tectonic plates that began during the Mesozoic Era and the Tertiary Period. Geological studies have revealed that the convergence of the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate started the mountain-building activity that eventually led to the formation of the Andes Mountain Range.
The Andes is bounded by many sedimentary basins including the Amazon Basin, Orinoco Basin, etc in the east; the Patagonia Terrane in the south, and the Pacific Ocean in the west.
Also forming the western boundary of the Andes is the Peru-Chile Trench. The Andes Mountains area is also home to huge deposits of valuable metals and minerals including copper, coal , iron ore, gold, silver, etc. Geologists believe that the subduction of the Nazca Plate and a portion of the Antarctic Plate under the South American Plate is the cause of the earthquakes and volcanic activities that are continuing in the region even today.
The formation of the modern Andes began with the events of the Triassic and Jurassic when Pangea begun to break up and several rifts developed. It was during the Cretaceous period that the Andes began to take their present form, by the uplifting, faulting and folding of sedimentary and metamorphic rock of the ancient cratons to the east.
The rise of the Andes has not been constant and different regions have had different degrees of tectonic stress, uplift, and weathering. About 30, species of Vascular plants live in the Andes, vascular plants include the club mosses, horsetails, ferns, gymnosperms including conifers and angiosperms flowering plants. The small tree Cinchona pubescens, a source of quinine which is used to treat malaria, is found widely in the Andes as far south as Bolivia.
Other important crops that came from the Andes are tobacco and potatoes. These trees are called Quenua by locals, Yagual and other names, can be found at altitudes of 4, m 14, ft above sea level. Tomatoes and potatoes, two of the most prevalent food crops in the world, originated from the Andes. Peru, one of Andes host countries, is home to at least 3, different varieties of potatoes.
Coca tea is a popular beverage in the high Andes, thanks to its effectiveness in relieving symptoms of altitude sickness. In the Andes about 3, species of animals can be found, including species of mammals, 1, species of birds, species of reptiles, and species of fishes, and more than species of amphibians.
High mountains are a dreary habitat for wild life, so mammals living there have thick woolly fur. The Andes are one of the greatest sources of mineral wealth in the world. Coca leaves also famously originate from the western slopes of the Andean mountains. Although its derivative, cocaine, has brought about many problems in countries like Peru, the ancient Incas used to cultivate coca since before the Spaniards arrived.
Coca tea is served everywhere in the high Andes, and is the one effective reliever of symptoms of altitude sickness. Spectacular Salar Uyuni during wet season. Renowned for its incredible biodiversity, the Andes Mountains comprise three different main climatic zones, known as the Tropical Andes in the north , Dry Andes in the centre and Wet Andes, in the south.
The ranges are home to an astronomical array of wildlife, including just under different species of mammals, an equal number of reptile species, species of fish, over 1, types of birds, more than 1, amphibians and way over 30, species of endemic plants.
The mountains act as a wall which blocks frigid Pacific winds, and this has created the arid landscapes of the western side of the Andes like the Atacama Desert and the tropical lusciousness of the eastern slopes, like in the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon River originates in the Andes Mountains. Latest estimates project that yet-to-be discovered copper deposits in the Andes could total a gobsmacking million metric tonnes, along with 13, tonnes of gold, , tonnes of silver and 20 million tonnes of molybdenum, which is a mineral used to harden steel.
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