Andes mountain range is wide and extended along the west coast of South America. Approximately 7000 km in length, width of 500 km and an average elevation of 4000 meters. Extend the series in seven countries, namely Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela. It is said that the reason for naming the Andes in this name back to the activity of a species of absolute Ondisit volcanoes in that region, which led to the formation of the mountains. Andes mountain range is the highest outside Asia, the highest peaks is the summit of Aconcagua, which rises 6959 meters above sea level. Andes can not keep up with the Himalayas in height but the length - almost - twice the length of the Himalayas.
The Andes can be divided into three natural regions: South, Central and North. The height of the southern Andes is less than 3000 m near the southern party the continent. If you push in the direction of the north, peaks become higher. The highest peak in the Americas is Aconcagua (6959 m), located in Argentina, about 100 km from Santiago, Chile.
Andes is the longest mountain chains on the back of the globe, where the stretch without a break, a distance of 8900 kilometers along the western shores of the continent of South America, beginning on the north coast of the Caribbean, and ends in the south island Tiradalvoyjo (which means "land of fire).
This consists of the mountains from several chains moving generally from north to south, and between which a number of plateaus and basins, mountain ranges further extend from east to west, and is characterized by the string of Western Andean Located on the scope of weakness in the earth's crust, which is the scope of swishes all the shores of the Pacific, this was a chain of western mountains prone to violent earthquakes, and volcanic activity.
In spite of the bone along the Andean mountain ranges displayed in the habit at least for three hundred kilometers, yet it is impervious barrier, which prevents easy movement between the Pacific coast in the west, and the rest of the territory of the continent in the east, but there are a number of passages of low in the southern part to allow passage between the Republics of Chile in the west and Alordjntin in the east.
Increasingly view the mountain ranges, and above the peaks in the middle section. This section is characterized by lack of him with, and free of the plant and lakes, in contrast to the southern section, which carpeted the forest, and packed with lakes, its mountains covered with snow.
The highest peaks of the middle section is a mountain called "Aconcagua", and a height of slightly less than seven thousand square meters, this mountain is the highest mountain of the Americas, and here there are a number of passages, but rugged high, higher than four thousand meters.
The maximum width of the Andes Mountains in the Republic of Bolivia, which expanded to more than a kilometer, a flat topped plateau sequences of three major mountain, some of which consist of a number of sub-chains, and some of the gaps are filled with water Vtkon many lakes. And on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Bolivia block are the headwaters of the Amazon.
And above some peaks in Bolivia more than 6500 meters, so covered with ice, which break down and quickly descended on the slopes when exposed to these areas for earthquake tremors.
These collapses occur and a great destruction of villages and crops. Also, when volcanism melts the ice by heat rashes, and bear the water hot thick mud, as happened to the eruption of the volcano "Nevado del Ruiz" in late November 1985, where the buried mud boil city "Armero" in the Republic of Colombia, and was buried about 23 thousand of the population of this unfortunate city.
In Ecuador, the Andes consists of a hill, bordered by chains of volcanic mountains. Include Western string nineteen volcanoes. Above, some more than 4000 meters, and the series consists of twenty Eastern volcanic mountain, rising some 4500 m and the eastern slopes of the mountains here, and abundant rain, covered with tangled forest, the high Pima land barren mountains. And dense fog covers a permanent high peaks, such as the volcanic peaks of Mount Ruiz, and a height of six thousand square meters, and is still the last revolution of the volcano did not subside.