Andes

(an´dēz), or, as they are called in Spanish South America, Cordilleras (ridges) de los Andes , or simply Cordilleras , a range of mountains stretching along the whole of the west coast of South America, from Cape Horn to the Isthmus of Panama and the Caribbean Sea. In absolute length (4500 miles) no single chain of mountains approaches the Andes, and only a certain number of the higher peaks of the Him a lay an chain rise higher above the sea-level; which peak is the highest of all is not yet settled. Several main sections of this huge chain are distinguishable. The Southern Andes present a lofty main chain, with a minor chain running parallel to it on the east, reaching from Tierra del Fuego and the Straits of Magellan, northward to about lat. 28° S. , and rising in Aconcagua to a height of 23,080 feet. North of this is the double chain of the Central Andes, enclosing the wide and lofty plateaus of Bolivia and Peru, which lie at an elevation of more than 12,000 feet above the sea. The mountain system is here at its broadest, being about 500 miles acro . Here are also several very lofty peaks, as Illampu or Sorata (21,484 feet), Sahama (21,054 feet), Illimani (21,024 feet). Farther north the outer and inner ranges draw closer together, and in Ecuador there is but a single system of elevated ma es, generally described as forming two parallel chains. In this section are crowded together a number of lofty peaks, most of them volcanoes, either extinct or active. Of the latter cla are Pichincha (15,918 feet), with a crater 2500 feet deep; Tunguragua (16,685 feet); Sangay (17,460 feet); and Cotopaxi (19,550 feet). The loftiest summit here appears to be Chimb or azo (20,581 feet); others are Anti san a (19,260 feet) and Cayambe (19,200 feet). Northward of this section the Andes break into three distinct ranges, the east-most running north-eastward into Venezuela, the westmost running north-westward to the Isthmus of Panama. In the central range is the volcano of Tolima (17,660 feet). The western slope of the Andes is generally exceedingly steep, the eastern much le so, the mountains sinking gradually to the plains. The whole range gives evidence of volcanic action, but it consists almost entirely of sedimentary rocks. Thus mountains may be found rising to the height of over 20,000 feet, and fo iliferous to their summits (as Illimani and Sorata or Illampu). There are about thirty volcanoes in a state of activity. The loftiest of these burning mountains seems to be Gualateïri, in Peru (21,960 feet). The heights of the others vary from 13,000 to 20,000 feet. All the districts of the Andes system have suffered severely from earthquakes, towns having been either destroyed or greatly injured by these visitations. Peaks crowned with perpetual snow are seen all along the range, and glaciers are also met with, more especially from Aconcagua southwards. The pa es are generally at a great height, the most important being from 10,000 to 15,000 feet. Railways have been constructed to cro the chain at a similar elevation. The Andes are extremely rich in the precious metals, gold, silver, copper, platinum, mercury, and tin all being wrought; lead and iron are also found. The llama and kindred species—the guanaco, vicuña, 160 and alpaca—are characteristic of the Andes. Among birds, the condor is the most remarkable. The vegetation nece arily varies much according to elevation, latitude, rainfall, ., but generally is rich and varied. Except in the south and north little rain falls on the western side of the range, and in the centre there is a considerable desert area. On the east side the rainfall is heavy in the equatorial regions, but in the south is very scanty or altogether deficient. From the Andes rise two of the largest water systems of the world—the Amazon and its affluents, and the La Plata and its affluents. Besides which, in the north, from its slopes flow the Magdalen a to the Caribbean Sea, and some tributaries to the Orinoco. The mountain chain pre ing so close upon the Pacific Ocean, no streams of importance flow from its western slopes. The number of lakes is not great; the largest and most important is that of Titicaca on the Bolivian plateau. In the Andes are towns at a greater elevation than anywhere else in the world, the highest being the silver-mining town of Cerro de Pasco (14,270 feet), the next being Potosi.