The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world, spanning Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and other countries, with a total length of about 8,900 kilometers. It belongs to the Cordillera Mountains in America and is the backbone of the Cordillera Mountains, and its total length is almost 3.5 times that of the Himalayas.
Most of the mountains in western South America are parallel to the Andes in Patagonia, Chile, and come down in one continuous line with the coast. They run through the western part of the South American continent, roughly parallel to the Pacific coast. Their northern branch extends along the Caribbean coast to Trinidad, and their southern branch extends to Tierra del Fuego.
In the last 66.4 million years of the Cenozoic era, the movement of the earth's plates created the Andean mountain system that people see today. Geologically, the mountain system belongs to the young wrinkled mountain system, which was formed in the alpine movement from the end of Cretaceous to Tertiary. After many folds, uplifts, faults, magmatic intrusion and volcanic activity, the crustal activity continues, and it is a part of the volcanic seismic belt around the Pacific Ocean.
Aconcagua Mountain is the highest peak in the Andes, with an altitude of 6,959 meters, and it is also the highest extinct volcano in the world. Llullaillaco is the highest active volcano in the world, with an altitude of 6723 meters. There are a large number of volcanoes in South America, mostly in the Andes, with about 40 active volcanoes.
The altitude of the Andes determines the viability of most animals, and the distribution of plant communities is determined by climate characteristics, humidity and soil conditions. The survival of animals depends on abundant food sources, and the upper limit of animal and plant survival is the permanent snow line. Some animals and plants can live at any altitude, while others can only live at a certain altitude.
Cats rarely live above 4,300 meters, and white-tailed mice are usually not less than 4,300 meters, and the highest can reach 5,700 meters. Alpacas, maroon alpacas, alpacas and llamas are all plateau animals, living between 3700 meters and 4200 meters, but they can also live well at lower altitudes, while vultures can fly to 8600 meters.
At about 35 degrees south latitude, the Andes is divided into two different parts. In the south, in the Andes of Patagonia, plants belong to the southern system rather than the Andes. In the mid-latitude rainforest, there are conifers and oaks of pine trees, as well as eucalyptus, cypress and larch.
The situation in the north is different. The southern part of the western Cordillera Mountains is particularly dry, while the central and northern parts of Peru are slightly humid, with only moisture and a little rainfall. Ecuador and Colombia have more rainfall and humid climate. Vegetation also changes with the climate: the vegetation in the south is sparse, similar to desert, but there are prairies at higher altitudes.
Animals include South American deer, puma, rabbit, guinea pig, silk mouse, camel, mouse and lizard; Birds include eagles, partridges and webbed chickens. On the east side of the East Cordillera Mountains, from Bolivia to the north, there are lush vegetation, mostly tropical forests. Agricultural prospects are relatively small, not suitable for agricultural cultivation, but jungle animals are very prosperous.
Natural resources Non-ferrous metals, petroleum, saltpeter and sulfur are the main mineral resources found in the Andes at present. Non-ferrous metal deposits are mostly related to volcanic activity and magma intrusion in Tertiary and Quaternary, especially magma intrusion in vein and vein, such as andesite, diorite and porphyrite.
The most prominent is the copper mine from southern Peru to central Chile, which is part of the largest porphyry copper mine in the world. The Andes has the largest underground copper mine in the world, with an underground depth of1200m and a total length of more than 2,000km. The automatic production technology is high, and the underground living facilities are perfect. Oil is mainly distributed in intermontane tectonic valleys or basins in the northern Andes.