Andes+Mountains

=Andes Mountains= The Andes Mountains Run all along the western edge of Bolivia. They are the worlds longest exposed mountain range in the world (Wikipedia.com). They are approximately 4,300 miles long. The average height is 13,000 feet high. The great Incan Empire was formed in the Andes Mountains in the 15 th Century. The capitol city of La Paz is located on the east coast of the Andes Mountains. Bolivia is part of the Central Andes (Wikipedia.com). The tallest peak in the Andes Mountains is in Chile. It is Mt. Aconcagua and it is 22, 841 feet tall. Mt. Aconcagua is a giant volcano (letus.northwestern.edu). The Andes are usually split into two different ranges, the cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Occidental. these two ranges are often seperated by a deep depresion in which other minor ranges rise (Absolute astronomy.com). The Andes stretch over the length of seven countries, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Trinidad, and Venezuela. these are sometimes refereed to as Andean countries (Absolute Astronomy.com). The western side of the Andes Mountains is very dry and includes the atacama dessert in northern Chile (Windows.ucar.edu). The eastern side of the Andes is much wetter. As well as the southern section of the Andes. Many peaks in the Andes receive a lot snowfall and have glaciers (Windows.ucar.edu). Some large glaciers even reach sea level. While at the base of some peaks there are tropical rain forests. Plate tectonics are responsible for the formation of the Andes Mountains. These plates also cause many earthquakes every year. The Andes have a huge variety of plants and animals. There are roughly 30,000 Vascular plants in the Andes (Absolute Astronomy.com). Rain forests used to encircle much of the northern part of the andes but have been diminished greatly (Absolute Astronomy). The tree that produces quinine which is used to treat malaria is found in these rain forests. The tobacco plant was found in the andes as well as the potato. Animal diversity is very high in the Andes. There are around 600 species of mammals, 1,700 species of birds, 600 reptile species and 400 species of fish (Absolute Astronomy.com). The Andean Condor is the largest bird of its kind found in the western hemisphere. It occurs throughout the Andes but usually in low densities.

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