Through which countries did the Cordillera stretch? Cordillera: “Great Mountain Ranges. Rivers and lakes of the Cordillera

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 the northern part is 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 of the 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 arbitrary.

the highest peaks 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.
• - Due to the large number of climatic zones, vegetable world The Cordillera 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 is a narrow strip of the Pacific coast. 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. The official language of these countries is Spanish.

The area is rich in 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. 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: Cordillero North America and the Cordillero from 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 Cordilleras gradually fall and are divided into two branches. One branch is located in the east near the 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.

The highest peaks 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).

The width of the 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 caused by any of the Cordillera began in North America during the Jurassic, in South America (where most of it takes on the structure of the Paleozoic Hercynian stacking) - at the end of the Cretaceous and are closely related to the formation of mountain ranges on other continents (see Fig.

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.

Active areas of the Cordillera have more than 80 active volcanoes, the most active are Katmayu, Lassen Peak Colima Antisana, Sangay, 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 exceptional diversity natural conditions in the Cordillera mountain range.

The Cordilleras lie in almost all geographic regions of the world (except for the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic 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 heavily wetted in the temperate and lower zones (western slopes) in the 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.

Cordillera - mountains, a huge system of which occupies western edge continent of North America. They stretched for about 7 thousand km. The Cordilleras are mountains characterized by a wide variety of natural conditions. They are characterized by a number of features, and this determines their uniqueness among the rest of the mountain systems of our planet.

General characteristics of the Cordillera

Where are the Cordillera Mountains located? They are predominantly elongated in the submeridional direction. These mountains are formed within five orotectonic belts of different ages. The Cordilleras have in their composition a significant proportion of highlands (2.5-3 thousand or more meters above sea level). They have active volcanism and high seismicity. The large extent of these mountains from north to south has led to the presence here of many spectra of altitudinal zonality. Cordilleras are mountains formed at the junction between lithospheric plates. The border between them almost coincides with the coastline.

Composition of the Cordillera

The third part of the area of ​​the entire continent is occupied by a mountain fold-block system. It has a width of 800-1600 km. It includes mountain plateaus, intermountain basins, ranges, as well as volcanic plateaus and mountains. Young deformations, volcanism, denudations have undergone the Cordillera, which determined their current appearance and disguised many geological structures that appeared earlier. The mountain system is very heterogeneous both in the transverse and in the longitudinal direction.

More about the structure of the Cordillera

The structure of the surface of the mainland, where the mountains of the Cordillera are located, is asymmetrical. They occupy its western part, eastern - not high mountains and vast plains. West Side located at an altitude of about 1700 meters, and the eastern - 200-300 m. 720 meters is the average height of the continent.

The Cordilleras are mountains that include a number of mountain arcs, which are elongated mainly in the direction from the northwest to the southeast. From Mackenzie, Mt. Brooks, the Rocky Mountains consists of the eastern arc. A discontinuous belt formed from internal plateaus and plateaus is located to the west of these ranges. 1-2 thousand meters is their height. Cordillera - mountains that include the following plateaus and plateaus: the Yukon Plateau, the Columbian Plateau and the British Columbia Plateau, Big Pool, plateaus and the volcanic plateau of the Mexican Highlands (its inner part). For the most part they are an alternation of basins, ridges and table flat surfaces.

The highest mountain

The Cordilleras from the western part are marked by a system of the highest ridges. These are the Aleutian Ridge, the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Ridge. The latter reaches a height of 6193 meters. This is McKinley, the highest mountain shown in the photo above. The Cordillera is a system that also includes in the western part the Cascade Mountains, the Canadian Coast Range, the Western Sierra Madre and the Sierra Nevada, as well as the Transverse Volcanic Sierra located here (5700 meters), etc.

To the west of them, the height decreases. The Cordilleras are mountains that smoothly merge into the flat part of the mainland. It is occupied in the west by either Puget Sound, Cook), or lowlands (California Valley, Willamette River Valley). This coast of the continent is formed by the St. Elijah, Chugach, Kenai, Canadian Island Ranges, and the US Coast Ranges. The chains of the Cordillera to the south of the Mexican highlands bifurcate. One of them deviates to the east, forming the islands of the West Indies and underwater ridges, after which it passes into the Venezuelan Andes. The second half stretches through the Isthmus of Panama and Tehuantepec to the Colombian Andes.

What is the reason for the diversity of the relief of mountains?

It is associated with different ages of land areas, as well as with the history of their development. The mainland did not immediately form in its present form. The mountains of the Cordillera in their present form arose thanks to various processes that took place in different time on the continent.

For the Laurentian Upland, marked by the most ancient geological structures, the relief is characterized by leveling surfaces, the formation of which began at the beginning of the Paleozoic. The wavy surface of the modern upland was determined by the different resistance of rocks to denudation, as well as uneven tectonic movement. The lowering of the central part of the territory caused a cover Quaternary glaciation, due to which the depressions of the modern one were formed. In addition, under its influence, the accumulation of water-glacial and moraine sediments occurred, which formed the type of relief (moraine-hilly).

Great and belong to the type of reservoir. Under the influence of denudation processes in different places, depending on the characteristics of the occurrence of various rocks, cuest ridges (Great Lakes), stepped plateaus (Great Plains region), midlands and erosion low mountains (Washita, Ozarks) were formed.

The relief of the Cordilleras themselves is very complex. The strip of compression of the earth's crust is crossed by numerous faults, starting from the bottom of the ocean and ending on land. The mountain building process has not been completed yet. This is evidenced by volcanic eruptions (for example, Popocatepetl and Orizaba), as well as strong earthquakes that occur here from time to time.

Minerals

As you know, many different minerals can be found where there are mountains. The Cordillera is no exception. There are huge reserves of ores of non-ferrous and ferrous metals. From non-metallic, one can distinguish oil, which is located in intermountain troughs. Stocks of brown coal are available in the Rocky Mountains (their internal basins).

Climate

We continue the description of the mountains with the characteristics of the climate. The Cordilleras are in the path of oceanic air masses. Because of this, in eastbound the influence of the ocean is drastically weakened. This climatic feature The Cordillera is reflected in the soil and vegetation cover, the development of modern glaciation, and altitudinal zonation. The elongation from north to south of the mountain ranges predetermines the differences in temperatures in summer and winter. In winter, it ranges from -24 ° С (in the Alaska region) to +24 ° С (Mexico, south of the country). In summer the temperature reaches from +4 to +20 °C.

Precipitation

In the northwest, the most a large number of precipitation. The fact is that this part of the Cordillera is located on the path of the westerly winds blowing from the Pacific Ocean. The amount of precipitation here is approximately 3000 mm. Tropical latitudes are the least humidified, since oceanic air masses do not reach them. The low amount of precipitation is also due to the cold current passing near the coast. The inner plateaus of the Cordillera are also not very wet. The mountains are located within the temperate, subarctic, tropical and subtropical climatic zones.

Rivers and lakes of the Cordillera

A significant part of the western rivers of the continent originates precisely in the Cordillera. Mostly their food is snow and glacial, in the summer there is a flood. These rivers are mountainous, swift. The largest of them are Colorado and Columbia. The lakes of the Cordillera are of glacial or volcanic origin. On the inner plateaus there are saline shallow water bodies. These are the remains of large lakes that existed here for a long time, in times of a humid climate.

Vegetable world

The flora of the Cordilleras is very diverse. Coniferous forests with a peculiar appearance are located up to 40 ° N. sh. In terms of species composition, they are very rich. Spruce, cypress, fir, thuja (red cedar) are their typical representatives. The height of coniferous trees reaches 80 meters. Between them there is practically no woody undergrowth. However, a variety of shrubs grow here in abundance. There are many mosses and ferns in the ground cover. In the coniferous forests, when moving south, sugar pine, white fir, and yellow pine begin to come across. The evergreen sequoia appears further south. As dryness increases, south of 42 ° N. sh., thickets of bushes are replaced by forests. They are juniper, heather, and their height usually does not exceed two meters. Here you can sometimes find different types of evergreen oak. The humidity of the climate in the interior of the Cordillera is decreasing. They are characterized by dry forests, as well as areas of saltwort and wormwood deserts. The mountain slopes that receive rainfall are covered up to a height of 1200 m with evergreen forests.

Animals living in the mountains of the Cordillera

Where the mountains of the Cordillera are located, you can meet the brown grizzly bear - a large predator of the continent of North America. having long black fur, lives in the southwest of this system. It destroys livestock and spoils crops. There are also many lynxes, foxes, wolves. Arthropods, lizards, snakes are often found in the southern regions of the mountains. In addition, the gilatooth lives here - the only legless poisonous lizard. Large animals in places where people live are either destroyed or are extremely rare. Bison and pronghorn (a rare antelope) are only saved through national programs in North America. Only in the reserves one can observe today a rich animal world.

Cordillera is the largest mountain system in the world. It is located on the west coast of 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.

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 the northern part is 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 of the mountains). The total area of ​​glaciation is 90 thousand km2.

Peaks of the Cordillera

Although the highest points of the mountain system are located at six thousand meters, the average height of the 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 (extinct volcano) - 6962 meters.
• - Mount Denali (McKinley) - 6190 meters.
• - Ojos del Salado (the largest volcano in the 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.
• - Due to the large number of climatic zones, the flora of the Cordillera is very diverse.

The mountains of America are primarily the Cordillera system - the longest mountain system in the world, which stretches along the western coast of both Americas (North and South America). Any resident of North and South America knows where the Cordilleras are. The slopes of the ridges in the sowing. parts of the Cordillera are covered in main. coniferous forests.

The Cordilleras lie in all geographical zones of America (except for the subantarctic and antarctic) and are distinguished by a wide variety of landscapes and a pronounced altitudinal zonality.

In the northwestern Cordillera of North America and in the southeast of the Andes, glaciers descend to ocean level; in the hot zone, they cover only the highest peaks. The formation of the Cordillera has not yet ended, as evidenced by frequent earthquakes and intense volcanism (more than 80 active volcanoes).

The Cordilleras are unusual in that they are located on two continents at once. In addition to the Rocky Mountains themselves, it includes the Brooks Range in Alaska, the Richardson Range and the Mackenzie Mountains in Canada, and the Eastern Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico. The highest point of the belt is Mount Elbert, which is located within the state of Colorado.

It includes the Fraser Plateau, the Columbia Mountains, the Great Basin Highlands, the Colorado Plateau, and the Mexican Highlands. In Central America and the islands of the Caribbean, the Cordilleras fall into three main mountain arcs, which are separated by depressions.

The Cordilleras of North America are composed of various geological structures of different ages. Due to the very long extent in the meridional direction, the climate in the Cordillera varies greatly. These mountains stretch along the western side of the aforementioned continents: from Alaska (the northwestern part of North America) to the island of Tierra del Fuego, which is located not far from Antarctica.

The Cordilleras are one of the 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. On the territory where the Cordilleras are located, entire civilizations of the Indians were born, unique in their development and cultural heritage.

The Cordillera of North America is divided into a number of ranges. Further southeast within Canada and the United States, the Cordillera are called the "Rocky Mountains". Cordillera in the west of the mainland Sev. America. Int. some form a plateau, highlands and plateaus - Yukon, Fraser, Colombian, Colorado, Mexican. Glaciers cover approx. 80 thousand km²; most of them are in the mountains of Alaska. To the east the periphery of the Mexican Highlands grow evergreen rainforests, in the Cordillera Center. Americas - deciduous tropical forests, thorny bushes, thickets of cacti and secondary savannahs.

Where are the Cordillera located?

In the Cordillera Center. America and the West Indies, three mountain arcs are distinguished: the northern arc follows through the Cayman Islands to Cuba (the Sierra Maestra mountains), Haiti (the Central. Southern parts of the internal plateaus are occupied by dry steppes and deserts. Cordillera - This term has others meanings, see Cordillera (disambiguation). large mountains- Cascading, Sierra Nevada Range and Transverse Volcanic Sierra.

The relief of North America is diverse and contrasting. In the west, the plains adjoin the mountain structures of the Cordilleras. Within the mountainous West of the mainland are the Cordilleras. By age, the Cordillera is the youngest part of the mainland, although they began to form in the Mesozoic.

Within this mountain system, three belts of ridges are clearly visible. One of them - the Cordillera proper - in the west. The second belt, eastern, covers the Rocky Mountains. On far north these ridges converge, in the central part, on the contrary, they diverge.

Cordilleras prevent the penetration of oceanic air masses deep into the continent. With the distance from the Pacific Ocean, significant differences between the northern and southern parts of the Cordillera are more and more clearly visible. By natural features this large mountain system can be divided into such natural countries: the Cordillera of Alaska and Canada, the Cordillera of the United States, the Mexican Highlands, the mountains and islands of Central America.

mountain ranges of this natural country in the east and in the west they border the Yukon plateau. The development of the mountains has not yet ended, as evidenced by the large number of active volcanoes. Between them and the Sierra Nevada mountains lies deep depression California valley. This is the mountain system of the Appalachian Highlands, stretching along east coast North America. The Cordillera of North America is a system of mountain ranges and plateaus, which is part of the Cordillera system and occupies the west. part of Sev. America.

Physical-geographical zoning of the Cordillera

600 - 800 m, and the Brooks Mountains, 1200 - 1800 m.

Within Canada, C. S. A. has a southeast. The main uplifts of the Canadian part of the C. S. A. - the Rocky Mountains in the East and the Coast Range in the West have an alpine relief, due to the mean. The Canadian Coast Range passes into the Cascade Mountains from the volcanic.

Cordillera - one of the highest mountains in the world

To the south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the mountain belt bifurcates: one branch deviates to the E and continues on the Center Islands. America, the other stretches to the Isthmus of Panama. Between the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and South. America, the Cordillera have the character of more or less isolated, predominantly. low ridges and massifs.

The snow limit in Alaska is at an altitude of 600 meters, in Tierra del Fuego - 500-700 meters, in Bolivia and Southern Peru it rises to 6000-6500 meters. The western belt is represented by folded and volcanic ridges that run parallel to the Pacific coast. The inner belt includes a number of plateaus and plateaus located between two other belts. Thus, the arc, which is a structural continuation of the Rocky Mountains and the Eastern Sierra Madre, forms the mountains of the islands of Cuba, northern Haiti and Puerto Rico.

See what the Cordillera of North America is in other dictionaries:

The mountains began to form in the Jurassic, a little earlier than the Andes, whose formation began only at the end of the Cretaceous. To the north of the 50th latitude, the snow supply of watercourses predominates, and to the south - rain. Especially many hydroelectric power plants have been built in the Columbia River basin.

In the Cordillera are the origins of such major rivers like Yukon, Mackenzie, Missouri, Columbia, Colorado, Rio Grande and many more. The Cordilleras of North America are found mainly in countries such as Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Cordillera(Spanish Cordilleras, literally - mountain ranges), the largest and unparalleled mountain system on the globe. The Cordillera mountain system is also one of the highest mountain systems second only to the Himalayas and the mountain systems of Central Asia.

Geography of the Cordillera mountain system

The Cordillera stretch from the Arctic coast of Alaska (66°N) in northwestern North America along the western coasts of North and South America to the southernmost coasts of Tierra del Fuego (56°S) in southern South America. On its way, the Cordilleras pass through many countries of both continents: Canada, the USA, Mexico, the states of Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile. The length of the Cordillera mountain system is more than 18,000 kilometers. The highest point is located in South America at the top of Mount Aconcagua at 6960 meters above sea level, and in North America the highest peak of the Cordillera corresponds to the peak on Mount McKinley (in Alaska) reaching a height of 6193 meters. The Cordilleras form a giant barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the eastern parts of both continents. The Cordilleras are a large watershed between two oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific, and are also the climatic boundary between countries located on both sides of the mountain system. It is customary to divide the entire mountain system of the Cordillera into two parts, corresponding to the territories of both continents, these are the Cordillera of North America and the Cordillera of South America, or the Andes. The entire mountain system consists of numerous parallel ridges bordering a discontinuous belt of internal plateaus and plateaus (in North America - Yukon, Fraser, Columbia, B. Basin, Colorado, Mexican; in South - Peruvian and Central Andean). There are three distinct mountain range systems in North America, one of which (Rocky Mountains) extends to the east of the tableland zone, another system of mountain ranges extends immediately to the west of this zone (Alaska Range, Coast Range of Canada, Cascade Mountains, Sierra Nevada etc.) and the third system of mountain ranges runs along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, partly on the coastal islands. Arriving in Central America, the Cordillera gradually descends and bifurcates into two branches. One branch runs east along Antilles, the other crosses the Isthmus of Panama and enters the territory of the mainland of South America. The Andes (Cordillera of South America) in the northern and central parts consist of four, and in the rest of the length of two systems of parallel ridges, separated by deep longitudinal depressions or intermountain plateaus.

The highest mountain peaks of the Cordillera are the ridges of the middle Andes, where the height of individual mountain peaks reaches more than 6700 m (Aconcagua, 6960 m; Ojos del Salado, 6880 m; Sajama, 6780 m; Lullaillaco, 6723 m). The width of the mountain range varies quite a lot, so in North America the width of the Cordillera mountain belt reaches 1600 km, and in southern mainland reaches only 900 km, which is almost two times less.

The main mountain-building processes, thanks to which the Cordillera arose, began in North America in the Jurassic period, in South America (where great participation take the structures of the Paleozoic Hercynian folding) - at the end of the Cretaceous period and took place in close connection with the formation of mountain systems on other continents (see Fig.

Alpine folding). Mountain-building processes actively continued in the Cenozoic. These processes largely determine the main orographic elements.

The folded structures of the Cordillera are closely connected with the mountain systems of northeast Asia and Antarctica. According to the latest observations, the formation of the Cordillera is far from over; rather frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and intense volcanism, often leading to severe destruction and casualties among both people and the animal world, testify to these observations.

In the active regions of the Cordillera, there are more than 80 active volcanoes, of which the most active are Katmai, Lassen Peak, Colima, Antisana, Sangay, San Pedro, volcanoes of Chile, etc. Quaternary glaciation also played an important role in shaping the relief of the Cordillera, especially to the north of 44° N sh. and south of 40°S. sh. The Cordilleras are rich in minerals. Here I mine significant 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 its great length from north to south, the strong dissection of the relief and the high height of the mountains, the result is an exceptional big variety natural conditions in the Cordillera mountain system. Cordilleras lie in almost all geographic zones of the globe (except for the Antarctic and subantarctic belts).

The climate of the Cordillera is very diverse and varies greatly depending on the latitude, altitude and exposure of the slopes. The marginal ridges of the Cordillera are strongly moistened in the temperate and subarctic zones (western slopes) and in the equatorial and subequatorial zones (mainly eastern slopes). The internal plateaus have a sharply continental climate; in the subtropical and tropical zones they are distinguished by exceptional aridity. Significant parts of the plateaus, internal depressions and slopes of the ridges, mainly in the tropical zones, are occupied by steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. The heavily moistened outlying mountain chains are covered with dense forests. Coniferous forests (in the north) and mixed forests of evergreen beeches and conifers (in the south) are widely developed in temperate zones, and mixed (deciduous-evergreen) subtropical and tropical forests are closer to the equator. On the wet slopes of the ridges of the equatorial, subequatorial and subtropical belts, there are complex spectra of high belts, from hyla to eternal snow. The snow limit lies in Alaska at an altitude of 600 m, in Tierra del Fuego 500-700 m, in Bolivia and Southern Peru it rises to 6000-6500 m. In Alaska and Southern Chile, glaciers descend to ocean level, in the hot zone they cover only the highest tops.

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Description and characteristics

The total length of the mountain range is more than 18 thousand km, maximum width in North America is 1600 km, in South America - 900 km. Almost throughout its entire length, it plays the role of a watershed between the basins of two outstanding oceans - the Atlantic and the Pacific, as well as a pronounced climatic natural boundary. In terms of height, the Cordillera is second only to the Himalayas (the highest mountains in the world, located between the Tibetan Plateau and the Gangetic Plain) and the mountain ranges of Central Asia. The highest peaks of the Cordillera are McKinley Peak (English Mount McKinley; Alaska, North America, 6193 m) and (Spanish Aconcagua; Argentina, South America, 6962 m).

The Cordilleras cross almost all geographical zones (except for the Antarctic and Subantarctic). The mountain system is characterized by a wide variety of landscapes and a clearly defined altitudinal zonality. The snow limit lies at altitudes: in Alaska - 600 m, in Tierra del Fuego - from 600 to 700 m, in Bolivia and Peru it rises to 6500 m. If in the northwest of North America and in the southeast of the Andes glaciers descend almost to ocean level , then in the tropical zone they crown only the highest peaks.

The mountain system is divided into 2 parts, consisting of many parallel ranges: the Cordillera of North America and the Cordillera of South America, called. One mountain branch passes through the Antilles, the other passes into the territory of the South American mainland.

The main processes of mountain building, as a result of which the Cordillera were formed, took place in North America from the end of the Jurassic period to the beginning of the Paleogene, in South America - from the middle of the Cretaceous period, actively continuing in the Cenozoic era. To date, the formation of the mountain system has not been completed, which is confirmed by frequent earthquakes and high-intensity volcanic processes. There are more than 80 active volcanoes, of which the following are the most active: Katmai (eng. Katmai; south p / o Alaska), Lassen Peak (eng. Lassen Peak; North America), Colima (Spanish Volcan de Colima; western regton Mexico), (Spanish Volcan de Antisana; 50 km southeast of Quito, Ecuador), (Spanish Sangay; Ecuador), (Spanish Volcan San Pedro; northern Chile), Orizaba (Spanish Pico de Orizaba ) and Popocatepetl (Spanish: Popocatepetl) in Mexico, etc.

Relief structure

The relief of the Cordillera is quite complex, the system is subdivided into fold-block ridges, volcanic mountains and developing young platform depressions (accumulative plains). Mountain folds were formed at the junction of 2 lithospheric plates, in the area of ​​compression of the earth's crust, which is crossed by many faults starting at the bottom of the ocean.

The largest relief structures of the Cordillera include: Alaska Range (English Alaska Range; Alaska), Coast Ranges (English Coast Ranges), Rocky Mountains (English Rocky Mountains; western USA and Canada), Colorado Plateau (English Colorado Plateau; west USA), Cascade Mountains (Eng. Cascade Range; West of North America), Sierra Nevada (Spanish: Sierra Nevada; North America). The ranges are cut by deep river valleys called canyons.

Cordillera

Andean Cordillera, or (Spanish Cordillera de los Andes) - the southern part of the Cordillera with a length of about 9 thousand km, they border the entire South American continent from the northwest. The average width of the Andes is 500 km (maximum width: 750 km), the average height is about 4 thousand meters.

The Andean ranges are a giant inter-oceanic divide. In the mountains, the rivers of the basin originate and flow to the east Atlantic Ocean(and many of its tributaries, tributaries of Paraguay, Patagonia rivers), to the west - small rivers of the Pacific basin.

The Andean ranges serve as the most important climatic barrier, protecting the territories lying to the west of the Main Cordillera chain from the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern territories from the influence of the Pacific Ocean. The mountains stretch across 5 climatic zones: equatorial, subequatorial, tropical, subtropical and temperate.

Due to the impressive length, the individual landscape parts of the Andes are strikingly different from each other. According to the nature of the relief and climatic differences, 3 main regions are distinguished: Northern, Central and Southern Andes.

The Andes stretch from north to south through the territories of 7 South American states: Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Behind (Spanish Drake) is the Antarctic Peninsula, which is a continuation of the South American Andes.

Minerals

The Cordilleras are characterized by a variety of minerals, in particular, huge reserves of ferrous and non-ferrous ores. The Andes are predominantly rich in non-ferrous metal ores, there are significant deposits of tungsten, vanadium, bismuth, tin, molybdenum, lead, arsenic, zinc, antimony, etc.

The territory of Chile has large deposits of copper. In the foothills of Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela there are oil and gas deposits, as well as brown coal deposits. In the Bolivian Andes there are iron deposits, in the Chilean Andes - sodium nitrate, in the Colombian - underground pantries of platinum, gold, silver and emeralds.

Cordillera: Climate

Northern Andes. Northern part The Andes belongs to the subequatorial belt of the northern hemisphere with alternating dry and wet seasons. The rainy season is from May to November. The Caribbean Andes are located at the junction of the tropical and subequatorial belts; a tropical climate with low rainfall dominates here all year round.

The equatorial belt is characterized by an abundance of precipitation and an almost complete absence of seasonal temperature fluctuations, for example, in (Spanish Quito - the capital of Ecuador) fluctuations average monthly temperatures per year is about 0.4°C. The altitudinal zonality is clearly expressed here: in the lower part of the mountains the climate is hot and humid with almost daily precipitation, in the lowlands there are many swamps. As the altitude increases, the amount of precipitation decreases, but the massiveness of the snow cover increases. From a height of 2.5 - 3 thousand meters, daily temperature fluctuations increase (up to 20 ° C). At altitudes of 3.5 - 3.8 thousand meters. average daily temperatures are about + 10 °C. Even higher - the climate is dry, harsh, with frequent snowfalls; at positive daytime temperatures, severe frosts occur at night. Above 4.5 thousand meters - the zone of eternal snow.

Central Andes. One can note an obvious asymmetry in the distribution of precipitation: the eastern Andean slopes are moistened much more intensively than the western ones. To the west of the Cordillera Main chain, the climate is desert, with very few rivers, in this part of the Andes extends (Spanish: Desierto de Atacama), the driest place on the planet. In some places the desert rises up to 3 thousand meters above sea level. Few oases are mainly located in the valleys of small rivers, fed by water from the melting of mountain glaciers. Average January temperature coastal zones ranges from +24°C (in the north) to +19°C (in the south); mid-July - from +19°C (in the north) to +13°C (in the south). Above 3 thousand meters there is also little precipitation, there are invasions of cold winds, then the temperature sometimes drops to -20 ° C. The average July temperature is not higher than +15°C.

Fog is frequent at low altitudes. The climate is very harsh average annual temperatures do not rise above +10°C. It has a great softening effect on the climate of the surrounding area.

Southern Andes. The Chilean-Argentinean Andes are characterized by a subtropical climate, with dry summers and wet winters. As the distance from the ocean increases, the continentality of the climate increases, and seasonal temperature fluctuations increase.

As you move south, the subtropical climate of the western slopes gradually turns into a temperate oceanic climate. Powerful western cyclones bring a huge amount of precipitation to the coast - more than two hundred days a year there are heavy rains, thick fogs are frequent here, the sea is constantly stormy. The eastern slopes are drier than the western ones, the average summer temperature is western slopes mountains ranges from +10°C to +15°C.

At the southernmost tip of the Andes (Tierra del Fuego), the climate is very humid, shaped by powerful southwesterly winds. Precipitation falls for most of the year, often in the form of drizzle; dominated throughout the year low temperatures with very little seasonal variation.

Vegetation

Impressive heights, a pronounced difference in the moisture content of the western and eastern slopes of the mountains - all this determines the great diversity of the vegetation cover of the Andes, 3 altitudinal belts are usually distinguished here:

• Tierra caliente (Spanish Tierra caliente - "Hot Land"), the lower forest belt in the mountains of Central (up to 800 m) and South America (up to 1500 m);
• Tierra fria (Spanish Tierra fria - "Cold Earth"), the upper forest belt in Central and South America, from 1700-2000 m (in low latitudes) to 3500 m (under the equator);
• Tierra Ellado (Spanish: Tierra helado - "Frosty Land"), a high mountain belt (between 3500-3800 and 4500-4800 m) with a harsh climate.

IN Venezuelan Andes shrubs and deciduous forests grow. Lower slopes ("tierra caliente") from Northwestern to Central Andes covered with humid tropical (equatorial) and mixed forests, which are characterized by various palm trees, banana and cocoa trees, ficuses, etc.

In the tierra fria zone, the nature of the vegetation changes noticeably: tree-like ferns, bamboos, cinchona, and coca bushes are typical for this zone. Between 3000 and 3800 m shrubs and stunted trees grow: creepers and epiphytes, tree ferns, myrtle, heather and evergreen oaks are common. Even higher, predominantly xerophytic vegetation grows, moss swamps and lifeless rocky cliffs are located. Above 4500 m there is a belt of ice and eternal snow.

South, in the subtropics Chilean Andes evergreen shrubs predominate. High mountain plateaus in the north are covered with wet equatorial meadows - (Spanish: Paramo), in Peruvian Andes and in the east of Tierra helado - dry mountain-tropical cereal steppes of Khalka (Spanish: Hulka), on the Pacific west coast - desert vegetation, in the Atacama Desert - numerous succulent epiphytes and cacti. Between 3000 m and 4500 m semi-desert vegetation (dry puna) prevails: dwarf shrubs, lichens, cereals and cacti. To the east of the Main Cordillera, a large amount of precipitation falls, here there is steppe vegetation with cushion-shaped shrubs and various grasses: feather grass, fescue, reed grass.

Tropical forests (cinchona, palm trees) rise along the wet slopes of the Eastern Cordillera up to 1500 m, turning into undersized evergreen forests (bamboos, ferns, lianas); and above 3000 m - in the high-mountain steppes. A typical representative of the flora of the Andean highlands (found up to 4500 m) is polylepis (Polylepis, Rosaceae family) - this plant is common in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Chile and Ecuador.

In the middle part of the Chilean Andes today mountain slopes practically bare, there are only separate groves, consisting of pines, araucaria, beeches, eucalyptus and plane trees.

The slopes of the Patagonian Andes are covered with subarctic multi-tiered forests of tall trees and evergreen shrubs; there are many lianas, mosses and lichens in the forests. To the south there are mixed forests in which magnolias, beeches, tree ferns, conifers and bamboos grow. Oriental Patagonian Andes overgrown mainly with beech forests. The extreme south of the Patagonian slopes is characterized by tundra vegetation.

Mixed forests of tall deciduous and evergreen trees (canelo and southern beeches) occupy a narrow coastal strip in the west of the Andean ranges of Tierra del Fuego; almost immediately above the border of the forest, a snow belt extends. Subantarctic alpine meadows and peatlands are widespread in the east.

Animal world

The Andean fauna is characterized by a large number of endemic species. Alpacas and llamas live in the mountains ( local population uses representatives of these species for meat and wool, as well as pack animals), different kinds monkeys, pudu deer, relic spectacled bear and gaemal (endemic) guanaco, vicuña, sloth, Azar fox, marsupial opossum, chinchilla, anteater and degu rodents. In the south live: Magellanic dog, blue fox, tuko-tuko (endemic rodent), etc.

A variety of birds live in abundance in the "foggy forests" (tropical rainforests of Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and northwestern Argentina), among them are hummingbirds, which can be found even at altitudes of more than 4 thousand meters. The endemic condor lives at altitudes up to 7 thousand m. Some species of animals, such as chinchillas (which were uncontrollably exterminated in the 19th and early 20th centuries for valuable skins), as well as the Titicaca whistler and wingless grebes, living only in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca (Spanish: Titicaca), today are on the verge of extinction.

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