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Andes Mountains
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Physical map of the Southern and Central Andes and Patagonia, highlighting elevation with color gradients from lowlands to high mountain peaks. The Andes mountain range runs along the western edge of South America through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and parts of Peru, with major peaks and volcanoes labeled. Key cities, rivers, lakes, and international boundaries are marked, and a locator map in the corner shows the region's position in South America. Physical map of northern and central South America highlighting the Andes Mountains along the continent's western edge and the Amazon River basin and drainage network spanning Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and surrounding countries. The map uses color shading to show elevation, marks major rivers, cities, international and political boundaries, and features a small locator map of South America in the corner. Physical map of the northern Andes and the Orinoco River basin, covering parts of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and northern Brazil. The map uses color shading to indicate elevation, highlights major mountain ranges, rivers, and drainage networks, and marks international and political boundaries as well as key cities. An inset locator map shows the region's position in northern South America.
Behold Andean condors soaring among mountaintops of the Andes, a chain that stretches the entire length of South America
Map of South America highlighting in purple the regions where Quechuan languages are spoken, primarily along the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and smaller areas in Colombia, Chile, and northern Argentina.
Visit Aymara and Quechua people on the Altiplano of Bolivia and Peru to see the ancient drop-spindle technique
Andes Mountains: transportation Bermejo Pass The Cauca River flows through lush green hills with the Andes Mountains rising in the background near Santa Fe de Antioquia, Colombia. Lake Mascardi
At a Glance
Snow-capped Mount Aconcagua rises above surrounding peaks under a clear blue sky in the Southern Andes, Mendoza, Argentina.
Andes Mountains summary
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Blue Ridge Mountains. Blue Ridge Parkway. Autumn in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, United States. Appalachian Highlands, Ridge and Valley, The Appalachian Mountain system
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Physical map of the Southern and Central Andes and Patagonia, highlighting elevation with color gradients from lowlands to high mountain peaks. The Andes mountain range runs along the western edge of South America through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and parts of Peru, with major peaks and volcanoes labeled. Key cities, rivers, lakes, and international boundaries are marked, and a locator map in the corner shows the region's position in South America.
Southern and Central Andes and Patagonia

Andes Mountains

mountain system, South America
Also known as: Cordillera de los Andes, Los Andes, The Andes
Written by
Norman R. Stewart
Associate Professor of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Author of Japanese Colonization in Eastern Paraguay.
Norman R. StewartAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Andes Mountains, mountain system of South America and one of the great natural features on Earth. The Andes consist of a vast series of extremely high plateaus surmounted by even higher peaks that form an unbroken rampart over a distance of some 5,500 miles (8,900 kilometers)—from the southern tip of South America to the continent’s northernmost coast on the Caribbean. They separate a narrow western coastal area from the rest of the continent, affecting deeply...

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