Where are the cordillera mountains. Great Soviet Encyclopedia - Cordillera

Over and over I reread my favorite book, The Children of Captain Grant. I love her characters, I experience their difficulties and hardships with them. But most of all I love the part about the heroes' journey through the mountains of the Cordillera. What are these mountains and where are they located?

Where are the Cordillera Mountains located?

Mountains of the Cordillera is one of largest mountain systems on earth, It has Plength of about 18 thousand kilometers. They are characterized by a wide variety natural conditions which makes these mountains unique. Located they're in Northern and South America . South American Cordilleras have a name Andes. Mountains stretch through the following countries:

Above the Cordillera, only the Himalayas. In the mountains there active volcanoes and there is a high probability of earthquakes. Cordillera of North America share for three belts. Eastern Belt also called a belt rocky mountains, because consists of he is predominantly from high massive ridges. Inner belt comprises plateaus and uplands. There are very wide tectonic depressions, in which river floodplains are located. Although here there is high ridges. IN western belt includes: Pacific ridges; coastal belts and belts of intermountain lakes.

Mountain range of North Americaki include:

• lowlands;
• plateau;
• sea ​​bays and straits;
• coastal chains;
• mountainous coastal islands.

Animal world

Depending on the climate, altitude and other climatic conditions,animal and vegetable world The Cordillera is very different. Common here coniferous forests . The height of the trees sometimes reaches more than 80 meters. Among them: spruce,cypress,fir,white and black spruce,huge thuja (red cedar),birch.

There are also many here mosses and ferns. Trees like sequoia located somewhat to the south. Can be found different kinds evergreen oak.

The main predator of the mountains is the famous Grizzly bear. common foxes, wolves, lynxes, moose, deer. IN southern regions meet lizards and snakes. But today animal world in all its glory can be found only innature reserves. For example, bison and pronghorn live only there.

The material will help to form an accurate representation and supplement existing knowledge about the mountains in North America. Get an idea of ​​the mountain systems of the study area. The article will provide an opportunity to consolidate the knowledge gained earlier.

Features of the relief of the mainland

The peculiarity of the North American mountains is that they are located in almost every geographic zone. Mountain landscape continent is provided with landscape diversity and a rich palette of the natural world.

Glaciers located in the mountains cover an area of ​​90 thousand km. sq. The bulk of the hills are concentrated in the northern part of the mainland.

Mountains of mainland North America

The largest mountain ranges are the Cordillera, they are divided into two parts: the Cordillera of North America and the Cordillera of South America.

The Northern Cordilleras occupy the territories of such countries as:

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• Canada;
• Mexico.

They wander their origin from Alaska and reach the Isthmus of Panama.

The total length of the mountain system from north to south is about 6000 km. The highest point of the North American Cordilleras is McKinley Peak. This peak is also the most high point North American continent.

Rice. 1. Mount McKinley

This mountain peak was renamed Denali in 2015. In the dialect of the local Indians, it means "big."

The Cordilleras here are divided into a chain of mountain ranges. The highest of them is the "Alaska Range", where the highest peak is located.

In the southeast, within the territory of Canada and the United States, the Cordillera are already referred to as the "Rocky Mountains".

Rice. 2. Cordillera, or Rocky Mountains

The length of the Rocky Mountains exceeds six hundred kilometers. The highest peak is Mount Robson (3954 m.).

Variety list mountain peaks complement the Cascade Mountains. The ridge is almost entirely located in the United States. A small part of it covers the territory of Canada. The highest point in the Cascades is Mount Rainier (4392 m). Rainier, among other things, also belongs to dormant volcanoes.

The peaks in the United States and the areas adjacent to them are declared national parks. Nature here is protected by the state and preserved in its original form.

In the western belt mountain range The Siera Nevada complex is located. Its highest point is Mount Whitney (4418 m.).

Rice. 3. Mount Whitney

In Mexico, the North American Cordillera split into two mountain ranges. They make up the Western and Eastern borders of the Sierra Madre.

At the southern tip, these mountain ranges are cut by a ridge volcanic origin. It includes two famous volcano: Orisawa (its height is 5700 m.) and Popokatepetl (its height is 5452 m.).

In the old days, Asia and North America were united by dry land. The piece of land was called the Bering Bridge. Then the sea level was much lower. Several times the continents were united by this isthmus.

Plains occupy more than half of the mainland territories. In addition to the highlands and plains, North America also has a considerable amount natural sources With fresh water. Water comes from the atmosphere and thanks to the melting of glaciers.

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Any resident of North and South America knows where the Cordilleras are. These mountains stretch along the western side of the aforementioned continents: from Alaska (northwestern part of North America) to the island Tierra del Fuego which is located near Antarctica. This is the longest mountain range in the world. Its length is 18,000 kilometers, and the width of the North American part reaches 1,600 kilometers ( maximum width South American part - 900 km). The mountain chain is usually divided into two halves: the Cordillera of North America and the Andes.

Cordillera - one of the highest mountains in the world

The Cordilleras are one of highest mountains in the world. Only the Himalayas, as well as several other mountain systems of the central part of Asia, surpass them in height. The highest point is Mount Aconcagua, whose height is 6962 meters. Aconcagua is located in the South American part of the Cordillera, and the highest peak in the North American part is Mount Denali (Mount McKinley), reaching 6190 m.

The mountain chain passes through all the climatic zones of America (with the exception of the Antarctic, subantarctic), due to which the climate, as well as the flora and fauna of these mountains, change greatly if you move from north to south (to a lesser extent from west to east). For example, the snow limit in the Cordillera of Alaska is 600 m, and in Bolivia it is 6500 m.

Minerals

Like any territory where mountains are located, the Cordilleras are the richest source of minerals, primarily a variety of ores:

• copper;
• zinc;
• gold;
• iron;
• platinum;
• tin.

The bowels of the mountains also contain many other metals, and oil, gas, coal, and even gems(the richest emerald deposits in Colombia and Brazil).

Significance

The influence of these mountains on the formation of culture, traditions, and lifestyle of the inhabitants of America is difficult to overestimate. On the territory where the Cordilleras are located, entire civilizations of the Indians were born, unique in their development and cultural heritage. And on a planetary scale, the Cordillera mountain range is a watershed between the Pacific basin and the Atlantic Ocean.

In the North American part of the mountains there is a range called the Rocky Mountains. This area is one of the most popular areas in the United States for tourism, recreation, mountaineering, skiing and so on. Here are the famous National parks: Yellowstone (USA), Rocky Mountain (USA), Waterton Lakes (Canada) and others.

Cordillera is the largest mountain system in the world.

on which continent are the mountains of the Alps, Andes, Cordillera, Ural, Scandinavian, Himalayas, Appachi

It is located on west coast North and South America. That is, it is divided into two approximately equal parts. For this reason, sometimes its southern part, the Andes, is called the longest mountain system (9000 km). This is partly true, since the Andes, as a separate object, indeed have a large extent.

Description of the mountains of the Cordillera

The length of the Cordillera is about 18 thousand km. Approximately 9 thousand km for each of its parts - they are almost equal.

But if we talk about the size in general, then Northern part larger - it is wider (up to 1600 km). But the southern one is higher - 6962 meters at the highest point (Mount Aconcagua). In the northern part of the Cordillera, the height reaches 6190 meters (Mount Denali), which is also quite a lot.

In general, in terms of height, this mountain system is among the leaders, although it is far from in the first place.

Since the Cordilleras stretch for vast distances, they lie in almost all geographical zones.

And this means that the conditions here are very diverse. However, something similar is observed throughout the length of the mountains - glaciation. Even in the hottest climatic zones, there are snow caps on the mountains (due to the relatively high altitude mountains). total area glaciation is 90 thousand km2.

Peaks of the Cordillera

Although the highest points of the mountain system are located at six thousand meters, average height mountains is 3-4 km. Although, the relief of this geological object is very diverse, so the designation of the height is rather conventional.

The highest peaks of the mountain system are:

• — Mount Aconcagua ( dormant volcano) - 6962 meters.
• - Mount Denali (McKinley) - 6190 meters.
• — Ojos del Salado ( largest volcano world) - 6891 meters.
• - Monte Pissis - 6792 meters.
• — Lullaillaco ( active volcano) - 6739 meters
• - Tupungato (active volcano) - 6565 meters.
• - Volcano Orizaba - 5700 meters.

• - The system consists of a large number of mountain arcs, which already gives a certain uniqueness to the Cordillera.

  You can also note the presence of mountain ranges and basins that form elevations and depressions of the relief - this is very interesting.

• - In the Cordillera there is a fairly high volcanic activity.

  True, we are not talking about erupting volcanoes.

• - In the mountains there are large reserves of non-ferrous and ferrous metals, as well as oil and brown coal.
• - Thanks to a large number climatic zones, the flora of the Cordilleras is very diverse.

Andes or Andean Cordillera(Cordillera de los Andes) - the longest and one of the highest mountain systems of the Earth, limiting all of South America from the north and west.

The Andes mountain range rises in the west of South America and stretches for 6400 km from north to south.

The Cordillera Mountains are the longest mountain range in the world.

In Ecuador alone, 18 mountains rise above 4,500 meters above sea level. To the west of the Andes - a narrow strip of coast Pacific Ocean. The tributaries of the Amazon, the main river of South America, originate on the eastern slopes.

It was here, before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the 1530s, that the great civilizations of the Chimu and the Incas flourished, which only in the 1820s were able to free themselves from Spanish domination.

Today there are four independent states - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

They are inhabited by descendants of European settlers and Indians such as the Aymara and Quechua. Official language of these countries - Spanish.

The area is rich natural resources and timber, but many people work for very low wages. They grow corn, sugar cane, bananas, coffee, potatoes, and a grain called quinoa.

Where is it located and how to get there

Address: South America, Andean Cordillera

Andes in South America on the map

GPS coordinates:-20.923594, -69.658586

Cordillera(Spanish Cordillera, literally mountainous areas), the largest and largest in the world, which is not the same in the world, is a mountain system. The Cordillera mountain system is also one of the highest mountain systems, subordinate only to the Himalayan and mountain systems of Central Asia.

Geography of the Cordillero mountain system

The Cordillera stretches from the Arctic coast in Alaska (66° N.

) in northwestern North America along western coasts North and South America, mostly southern shores Tierra del Fuego (56°) south of South America. Cordillera on the road traveling through a number of countries on both continents: Canada, USA, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile.

The length of the Cordillero mountain system is more than 18,000 kilometers. The highest point is located in South America, on the top of Mount Aconcagua at an altitude of 6,960 m above sea level, and the highest peak in North America reaches the summit of the Cordillera on Mount McKinley (Alaska), reaching a height of 6193 m. The Cordillera form a huge barrier between Pacific Ocean and eastern parts two continents. The Cordilleras are an excellent watercourse between two oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and also the climatic limit between countries on both sides of the mountain system.

The entire mountain system of the Cordillera is divided into two parts, corresponding to areas of two continents: the Cordillero of North America and the Cordillero of South America or the Andes. The entire mountain system consists of several parallel ridges adjacent to the covering of internal tiles and plains (in North America - Yukon, Fraser, Columbia, B.

Basin, Colorado, Mexican; in South Peru and Central America). In North America, three parallel systems are pronounced mountainous areas, one of them (Rocky Mountains) and extends to the east from the area of ​​the plateau, the other system, in the mountainous regions is carried directly to the west of this area (the Alaska Range coast of the mountains of Canada, the Cascades, the Sierra Nevada, etc.), and a third system of highlands runs along the Pacific coast, partly on offshore islands.

They come to Central America The Cordillera gradually fall and split into two branches. One branch is located in the east near Antilles, the other crosses the Isthmus of Panama and enters the continent of South America.

Andes (Cordillera in South America) on the north and central parts consist of four, and on the other hand, two systems of parallel ribs are separated by a deep longitudinal depression or intermountain plateau.

Most high peaks- these are the ridges of the Cordillera of the central part of the Andes, where the height of individual peaks reaches more than 6700 m (Aconcagua, 6960 m, Hoyos del Salado, 6880 m, Sajama, 6780 m, llullaillaco, 6723 m).

Width mountain range varies considerably, so in North America the width of the Cordillera mountain range reaches 1600 km, reaching only 900 km in the southern continent, which is almost a fifth less.

The main orogenic processes due to any of the Cordillera began in North America during the Jurassic, in South America (where most of takes the structure of the Paleozoic Hercynian stacking) - at the end of the Cretaceous period and are closely related to the formation mountain ranges on other continents (cf.

Alpine styling). Educational processes are actively continuing in the Cenozoic. These processes largely determine the main orographic elements.

The Cordilleran fold structures are closely related to the mountains of northeast Asia and Antarctica. After recent observations on the design of the Cordillera, it is far from complete, confirming this observation, showing quite common and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and intense volcanism, often resulting in serious injury and casualties, both between people and animals.

The active areas of the Cordillera have more than 80 active volcanoes, the most active Katmayu, Lassen Peak Colima Antisana, Sangai, San Pedro, volcanoes of Chile and others. Quaternary ice, especially north of 44°N, plays an important role in the formation of the Cordillera. sh. and south of 40°S

Where is the Cordillera?

sh. Cordilleras are rich in minerals. Here I extract important deposits of copper (especially rich deposits in Chile), zinc, lead, molybdenum, tungsten, gold, silver, platinum, tin, oil, etc.

The climate of the Cordillera mountain system

Due to the large extent from north to south, the strong collapse of the relief and high altitude mountains, the result is an exceptional variety of natural conditions in mountain system Cordillera.

Cordilleras lie in almost all geographical areas world (except for the Antarctic and subantarctic belt).

The climate of the Cordillera is very diverse and varies greatly depending on the width of the landscape, the height and exposure of the slopes.

The boundaries of the Cordillera are strongly wetted in the temperate and lower zones ( western slopes) in equatorial regions and subequatorial (possibly eastern paths). The interior plains have a strong continental climate, while in the subtropical and tropical zones they are exceptionally arid. Large parts of the plateau, internal depression and reef slopes, especially in the tropical bands, are occupied by stages, halves and deserts.

The heavily moistened frontier chains of mountains are covered with dense forests. In temperate zones, coniferous forests (in the north) and mixed forests of evergreen beeches and conifers (in the south), closer to the equator, are mixed (deciduous and evergreen) subtropical and tropical forests. On wet slopes of reefs of equatorial, subequatorial and subtropical bands, complex spectra of high bands, from gills to eternal snow. The snow border lies in Alaska at an altitude of 600 m above sea level, from 500 to 700 m in Tierra del Fuego, and in Bolivia and southern Peru it rises to 6000-6500 m.

In Alaska and southern Chile, glaciers descend to the ocean, while in the hot belt they cover only the highest peaks.