TheAndes is the longest mountain range in the world and boasts some of

the highest peaks. The range is also known for its volcanoes, ruins of
long-ago civilizations and the source of a malaria treatment
The Andes Mountains stretch about 4,500 miles along the western coast
of South America with several parallel ranges or cordilleras and many
volcanic peaks: rich in minerals, including gold, silver, copper, iron ore,
and nitrates. Average height: 3900 m (13 000 ft). Highest peak:
Aconcagua, 6960 m (22 835 ft)

Located along the entire western coast of South America, the Andes
mountain range is about 4,500 miles (7,242 kilometers) long. The
mountain range spans seven countries Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,
Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina and can be found between 10
degrees north and 57 degrees south latitudes and 70 degrees to 80
degrees west longitude. It is up to 500 miles (804 km) wide.

The highest range of the Andes is on the central and northern ArgentineChilean border; Aconcagua (22,835 ft/6,960 m; highest mountain of the
Western Hemisphere) and Tupuncato are there. Between the peaks is
Uspallata Pass, the route of the former Transandine Railway, with the
Christ of the Andes. Other major peaks such as Llullaillaco flank the
main range, and in N Chile sub-Andean ranges enclose the high, cold
Atacama Desert.

Climate of the Andes

Because the Andes act as a large wall between the Pacific Ocean and the
continent, they have a tremendous impact on climate in the region. The
northern part of the Andes is typically rainy and warm, and the weather
is also wet in the eastern part of central Andes, and the area to the
southwest. To the west, the dry climate is dominated by the Atacama
Desert in northern Chile. The mountains form a rain cover over the
eastern plains of Argentina, which have extremely dry weather.
The Andes Mountains of South America are home to 99 percent of
tropical glaciers permanent rivers of ice at high enough elevations not
to be affected by the types of balmy temperatures usually associated
with the tropics.

Life on the Andes

There is not a lot of evidence of early human life in the Andes, with the
oldest human remains being an average of 10,000 to 12,000 years old;

although scientists believe there was human habitation prior to that time.
The lack of oxygen at high altitudes and rough terrain made it hard for
people survive. The mountain shepherds have survived at higher
altitudes of 17,000 feet on a permanent basis because their bodies have
been able to adapt, including changes to the makeup of their cells.

One of the most famous sites in the Andes is Machu Picchu, the ruins of
an Incan city at 7,874 ft (2,400 m), sometimes called "the Lost City of
the Incas." Machu Picchu is one of the only Incan cities that was not
discovered by the Spaniards when they conquered the Incan Empire in
the early 1500s, hidden in the Andes high above the Amazon Rainforest.
This means that it was never plundered or destroyed, unlike most other
Inca sites. However, it was forgotten for almost 400 years, only being
called to the attention of the western world in 1911 by Hiram Bingham,
a lecturer at Yale University. Today, the site receives over 400,000
visitors annually

The Incas managed to establish themselves in the Peruvian Andes in the

15th century, only to be wiped out by civil wars and disease from
European invaders to which they had not developed immunities. Their
existence was largely undiscovered, save for some local residents, until
July 24, 1911, when the locals led Yale University professor Hiram
Bingham to Machu Picchu, at an elevation of 7,710 feet (2,350 m) in the
Peru portion of the mountain range.

Animal
To survive in the Andes, animals have to be rugged, agile and be able to
keep warm. One of the most well-known animal inhabitants of the
Andes is the chinchilla. Their fur gets thicker in the colder, higher
altitudes and their ability to jump and climb serves as a protection from
predators. Other animals include llamas and alpacas; the Andean condor,
the largest vulture in South America; and the vicua, a member of the
camel family.

The Andes has a rich plant population and is home to about 30,000
various species of plants. The Andes are dotted with Cinchona
pubescens trees, which produce quinine, coveted as a treatment for
malaria. In the high altitudes of the Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
and Chile segments of the range, there are also forests of Polylepis, a
group of tree species that have distinctive gnarled shapes. They are
members of the rose family.
The Andes also contain gold, silver, tin, lead, iron, platinum, and
quicksilver. Many kinds of animals live in this mountain range,
including the alpaca, chinchilla, condor, huemul and llama