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ANDES , a vast See also:
Although, in the explored portion of the Fuegian chain, the volcanoes which have been mentioned from See also:
Tierra del Cordillera Real de los Andes, while to the south of Fuego. ArgentinaChile- slope of the Southern Andes, are Lakes Maravilla, $20.38.S, too sq. m., and Sarmiento, 26 sq. m., 5r° S. lat., which overflow into Last See also: Hope Inlet; Argentino, 570 sq. m., 50° S. lat.; and Viedma, 450 sq. m., 49° 30' S. lat., which empty into the river See also:Santa Cruz; the fjordian Lake See also:San See also:
Mount San Valentin (12,700 ft.) is the culminating point of the Andes in the region extending from 49° to 46° S. lat., a little north of which is the river Huemules which is followed by the breach of the river Aisen. These two See also:
Mention has been made of active volcanoes in 51°, 49 and 470 S. lat., but these have not been properly located. The active volcanoes south of 41°, concerning which no doubt exists, are the Huequen, in 430 lat., and the Calbuco, both of which have been in eruption in See also: modern times. The surroundings of Mount Tronador, consisting of Tertiary granite and See also:basalt, form one of the most interesting regions inthe Patagonian Andes for the mountaineers of the future. To the east extends the large and picturesque lake of Nahuel-Huapi, to the west is Lake Todos Los See also:Santos (50 sq. m.), to which the See also:access is easy and of which the scenery is of surpassing beauty. Between 41° and 38° S. lat., among other smaller lakes, are Lakes Traful (45 sq. m.), Lacar (32 sq. m.), which, properly belonging to the system of Atlantic lakes, empties itself by the only water gap that occurs in this zone of the Cordillera into the river See also:Valdivia, a tributary of the Pacific, Lake Lolog (15 sq. m.), Huechu-lafquen (45 sq. m.), and Lake Alumine (21 sq. m.). The volcanoes of Lanin (12,140 ft.), Quetropillan (9180 ft.), Villarica (10,400 ft.), Yaimas and Tolhuaca are all more or less active; the first is in the main chain, while the others are on the western slope. The scenery in the neighbourhood is magnificent, the snowy cones rising from amidst See also:woods of See also:araucaria, and being surrounded by See also:blue lakes. While the scenery of the western slope of the Andes is exceedingly See also:grand, with its deep fjords, glaciers and woods, yet the severity of its See also:climate detracts considerably from its See also:charm. The climate of the eastern slope, however, is milder, the landscapes are magnificent, with wooded valleys and beautiful lakes. The valleys are already partly settled by colonists. Between 52° and 40° S. lat. erosion has carried the watershed of the continent from the See also:summit of the Cordillera to the eastern plains of Patagonia. From 40° S. southward the Chile-See also:Argentine Boundary See also:Commission under See also:Sir T.H. Holdich carried out important investigations in 1902; and between 38° and 330 S. lat. the Andes were somewhat extensively explored about the See also: close of the 19th See also:century by Argentine and Chilean Commissions. The highest peaks in the latter section are volcanic and their eruptions have sensibly modified the See also:character of the See also:primitive ridges. Out-flows of See also:lava and tufa See also:cover the mountain sides and fill up the valleys. The See also:Jurassic and Cretaceous formations, which in the Southern Cordillera are situated outside of the range to the east, form to a considerable extent the mass of the great range, together with See also:quartz See also:porphyry, the Tertiary, granite and other eruptive rocks, which have been observed along all the chain in South America up to Alaska in the north. Gneiss is seldom met with, but there are crystalline rocks, belonging chiefly to the pre-Cordillera of the eastern and to the Cordillera de la Costa on the western side. About 38° S. the Andes take a great transversal See also:extension; there are no wide intermediate valleys between the different ridges but the main ridge is perfectly defined. Volcanic chile. cones continue to predominate, the old crystalline rocks Argentina almost disappear, while the Mesozoic rocks are most front 38° s. See also:common. The higher peaks are in the main chain, while waaorththe Domuyo (15,317 ft.) belongs to a lateral eastern rd ridge. The principal peaks between this and Mount Tupungato at 330 S. lat. are: Mount Cochico (8255 ft.), Campanario, (13,140 ft.), Peteroa (13,297 ft.), Tinguiririca, See also:Castillo (16,535 ft.), See also:Volcano Maipu (17,576 ft.), See also:Alvarado (14,600 ft.), Amarillo (15,321 ft.), Volcano See also:Sari Jose (19,849 ft.), Piuquenes (17,815 ft.), and Volcano Bravard (19,619 ft.). North of Maipu volcano, ascended by R. P.Giissfeldt in 1883, the Cordillera is composed of two huge principal ridges which unite and terminate in the neighbourhood of Mount Tupungato. The valley between them is 9000 ft. high; and in that part of the Cordillera are situated the highest passes south of 330 S. lat., one of which, the Piuquenes Pass, reaches 13,333 ft., whilst the easiest of transit and almost the lowest is that of Pichachen (6505 ft.), which is the most frequented during See also: winter. Mount Tupungato reaches 22,329 ft., according to Argentine measurement. To the north of this mountain, situated at the watershed of the Andes, extends a lofty region comprising peaks such as Chimbote (18,645 ft.) and Mount Polleras (2o,266 ft.). The Pircas Pass is situated at a height of 16,962 ft. The gaps of Bermejo and Iglesia, in the Uspallata road, the best known of all the passes between Argentina and Chile, are at 13,025 ft. and 13,412 ft. See also:altitude respectively, while the nearest peaks, those of Juncal and Tolorsa, are 19,358 and 20,140 ft. high. _ Mounts Tupungato, See also:Aconcagua (23,393 ft.) and Mercedario 'es !;CiiIQIIIIII11PniillllmiNllU11 emu rPl,^Ilra after C. Burckbardj A. See also:Alluvium G. Upper Jurassic See also:Gypsum C. Cretaceous (including upper t See also:lower) YV. Younger Volcanic Rocks M.OV. Older Volcanic Rocks D. Di. Dioritic Rocks L. X. See also: Change of bearing in the Sections Upper Jurassic (Maim) mostly porphyrite and See also:Middle Jurassic (Dogger) porphyritic See also:conglomerate Classic (21,982 ft.) are the highest peaks of the central Argentine-Chilean of the Andes is of comparatively recent origin, being principally Andes. These three peaks are formed of eruptive rocks, sur- 11 constituted by a See also:line of high volcanoes, the chief summits being rounded by Jurassic beds which have undergone a thorough those of Juncal, Panteon de Aliste, Azufre or Listarria(18,636 ft.), See also:metamorphosis. While in the west of the Andes, from the See also:latitude of Aconcagua, the central valley of Chile runs without any notable interruption to the south end of the continent, a valley which almost disappears to the north, leaving only some rare inflexions which are considered by Chilean geographers and geologists to be a continuation of the same valley; to the east in Argentina a longitudinal valley, perfectly characterized, runs along the eastern See also:foot of the Cordillera, separating this from the pre-Cordillera, which is parallel to the Cordillera de la Costa of Chile. Between Aconcagua and Mercedario are the passes of Espinacito (14,803 ft.) and Los Patos or See also:Valle Hermoso (11,736 ft.), chosen by the Argentine General San Martin, when he made his memorable passage across the chain during the See also:War of See also:Independence. North of Valle Hermoso the Andean ridges, while very high, are not abrupt, and the passes are more numerous than in the south; some of them descending ro,000 ft., but most of them between 13,000 and 14,000 ft. The pass of Quebrada Grande is 12,468 ft. in altitude; Cencerro, 12,944 ft.; Mercedario, 13,206 ft.; Ojota, 14,304 ft.; Pachon, 14,485 ft. ; while Gordito is 10,318 ft.Farther north the passes are higher. Barahona Pass is 15,092 ft.; Ternera, 15,912 ft.; San Lorenzo, 16,420 ft., while the See also: peak of the volcano reaches 18,143 ft.; Mount See also:Olivares, 20,472 ft.; Porongos, 19,488 ft.; Tortolas, 20,121 ft.; and Potro, 19,357 ft. As far as 28° S. lat. the Cordillera de los Andes has been principally formed by two well-defined ridges, but to the north, recent volcanic action has greatly modified its See also:orography. Only a single line of passes characterizes the main ridge, and amongst them are the passes of 011ita (15,026 ft.), Penas Negras (14,435 ft.), Pircas Negras (13,615 ft.), La Gallina (16,240 ft.), Tres Quebradas (15,J35 ft.), and Aguita (15,485 ft.). To the north of Mount Potro the peaks in the Cordillera are not very prominent as far as the great mass of Tres Quebradas, but here are to be met with some that may be considered as amongst the highest of Bo/Ivla. the whole range. Mount Aguita is 20,600 ft., and the culminating peak of those of Tres Cruces reaches 22,658 ft. To the east of the eastern longitudinal valley, at 27° S. lat., begins a high volcanic See also:plateau between the Cordillera and the southern prolongation of the Bolivian Cordillera Real, which contains lofty summits, such as Mount Veladero (20,998 ft.), Mount Bonete (21,980), Mount See also:Reclus (20,670), Mount Pissis (22,146), Mount Ojo del Salado (21,653), and Incahuasi (21,719). To the north of Tres Cruces is a transversal depression in the Cordillera, which is considered to be the southern termination of the high plateau of the Puna. de See also:Atacama. The Cordillera of the Andes See also:borders the Puna to the west, while the Bolivian Cordillera Real See also:bounds it to the east. In that region the Cordillera Llullaillaco (21,720), 1l.Iiniques (19,357), Socompa (19,948), Licancaur (19,685), Viscachuclas (20,605), Tapaquilcha (19,520), Oyahua (19,242), Ancaquilcha (20,275), Olca (19,159), Mino (20,112), Sillilica (21,100). Perinacota (20,918), Sagama (22,339), Tacona (19,740), Misti (19,029); to the east closes in the intermediary high plateau which begins at 28° S. lat. in Argentina. The principal peaks of the Bolivian Andes and its prolongation from south to north, are Famatina, in the centre of Argentina, (20,340 ft.), Languna Blanca (18,307), See also:Diamante (18,045), Cachi (20,000) , Granadas, Lipez (19,680), Guadalupe (18,910), Chorolque (18,480), See also:Cuzco (17,930), Enriaca (18,716), Junari (16,200), Michiga (17,410), Quimza-Cruz (18,280), Illimani (21,190) and Sorata (21,490).While the western range of the Cordillera is principally formed by volcanic rocks, the eastern (to the east of the range is Cerro See also: Potosi, 15,400 ft.) Andes of Bolivia are chiefly composed of old crystalline rocks. Between the ranges in the high plateau north to 27° are numerous isolated volcanoes which have been in activity in recent times, such as Peinado (18,898 ft.), San Pedro (18,701), Antuco (19,029), Antofalla (20,014), Rincon (17,881), Pastos Grandes (17i553), Zapalegui (17,553), Suniguira (19,258), Tahue (17,458); volcanoes which have been elevated from a lacustrine basin, which very recently occupied the whole ex-tension, and the remains of which are, in the south, the See also:Laguna Verde, at 28°, and in the north Lake Titicaca. The discovery of great Pampean mammals in the See also:Pleistocene beds of that region shows that this upheaval of the latter is very recent, for in the heart of the Cordillera, as well as on the west coast of Bolivia and Peru, there have been discovered, in very recent deposits, the remains of some mammals which cannot have crossed the high range as it now exists. The two Cordilleras that formed the Andes to the north of 28°S. lat. are continued in Peru. The western, which reaches an altitude of about ,o,000 ft., then ceases to exist as a See also:con- _ tinuous chain, there remaining only a See also:short, high ridge, Per" .See also:Ecuador. called by See also:Edward See also:Whymper the " Pacific range of the equator," and between this ridge and the crystalline Andean axis, the " See also:avenue of volcanoes," to use his words, arises amidst majestic scenery. Chimborazo, which is not in the main chain, reaches 20,517 ft.; See also:Cotopaxi (19,580), Antisana (19,260), Coyambo (19,200) are in the eastern range, with many other peaks over 16,000 ft. which still contain glaciers. Sangay (17,38o ft.), under the equator, according to See also:Wolff, appears to be the most active volcano in the See also:world. Pichincha (15,804 ft.) and Cotocachi (16,297 ft.) are the loftiest volcanoes of the western range. In Colombia the three principal chains are continuations of those under the equator, and show very slight traces of volcanic action, In the western chain, which is remarkable for its regularity, the highest peak is 11,150 ft., and the lowest pass 6725 ft. The Cotombia. central chain, separated from the western chain by the valley of the See also:Cauca and from the eastern by the valley of the Magdalena, is unbroken; it is the more important owing to its greater altitudes and is of volcanic character. To the south, near the equator, are Mounts Arapul (13,360 ft.) and Chumbul (15,720 ft.).The volcanoes Campainero (12, 470 ft.) and See also: Pasto (14,000 ft.) are also in that zone. Farther north is the volcano Purace, which presents a height of 16,000 ft.; then come Huila (18,000), Santa Catalina (16,170), and Tolima (18,400), Santa See also:Isabel (16,760), See also:Ruiz (17,390) and Hervas (18,340). The eastern chain begins north of the equator at 6000 ft., gradually rises to the height of Nevado (14,146 ft.), See also:Pan de Azucar (12,140 ft.), and in the Sierra See also:Nevada de Cochi attains to peaks of 16,700 ft. The snow-line of the Andes is highest in parts of Peru where it lies at about 16,5oo ft. Its general range from the extreme north to Patagonia is 14,000 to 15,500 ft., but along the Patagonian frontier it sinks rapidly, until in Tierra del Fuego it lies at about 4900 ft. Structure.—The structure of the Andes is least complex in the southern portion of the range. Between 330 and 36° S. the chain consists broadly of a series of See also:simple folds of Jurassic and Cretaceous beds. It is probably separated on the east from the recent deposits of the See also:pampas by a great See also:fault, which, however, is always concealed by an enormous mass of scree material. The Cretaceous beds See also:lie in a broad synclinal upon the eastern flank, but the greater part of the chain is formed of Jurassic beds, through which, on the western margin, rise the numerous andesitic volcanic centres. There is no continuous See also:band of See also:ancient gneiss, nor indeed of any beds older than the Jurassic. There is very little over-folding or faulting, and the structure is that of the See also:Jura mountains rather than of the See also:Alps. The inner or eastern ridge farther north of Argentina consists of crystalline rocks with infolded Ordovician and See also:Cambrian beds, often overlaid unconformably by a See also:sandstone with plant-remains (chiefly See also:Rhaetic).In Bolivia this eastern ridge, separated from the western Cordillera by the longitudinal valley in which Lake Titicaca lies, is formed chiefly of Archaean and Palaeozoic rocks. All the See also: geological systems,from the Cambrian to the Carboniferous, are represented and they are all strongly folded, the folds leaning over towards the west. West of the great valley the range is composed of Mesozoic beds, together with Tertiary volcanic rocks. (The Cordillera of Argentina and Chile is clearly the continuation of the western chain alone.) In Ecuador there is still an inner chain of ancient gneisses and schists and an See also:outer chain composed of Mesozoic beds. The longitudinal valley which separates them is occupied mainly by volcanic deposits. North of Ecuador the structure becomes more complex. Of the three main chains into which the mountains are now divided, the western See also:branch is formed mostly of Cretaceous beds; but the inner chains no longer consist exclusively of the older rocks, and Cretaceous beds take a considerable See also:share in their formation. The great volcanoes, active and See also:extinct, are not confined to any one zone. Sometimes they rise from the Mesozoic zone of the western Cordillera, sometimes from the ancient rocks of the eastern zone. But they all lie within the range itself and do not, as in the Carpathians and the See also:Apennines, form a fringe: upon the inner border of the chain. The curvature of the range around the Brazilian See also:massif, and the position of the zone of older rocks upon the eastern flank, led See also:Suess to the conclusion that the Andes owe their origin to an overthrust from east to west, and that the Vorland lies beneath the Pacific. In the south Wehrli and See also:Burckhardt maintain that the thrust came from the west, and they look upon the ancient rocks of Argentina as the Vorland.In this part of the chain, however, there is but little See also: evidence of overthrusting of any See also:kind. Mitteilungen, civ. (1892) ; Edward Whymper, >I'ravels amongst the Great Andes of the Equator (See also:London, 1892) ; Teodoro Wolff, Geografia y Geologia del Ecuador (See also:Leipzig, 1892); E. A. See also:Fitzgerald, The Highest Andes (London, 1899) ; Sir Martin See also:Conway, " Explorations in the Bolivian Andes," Geogr. Journ. xiv. (London, 1899) ; The Bolivian Andes (London and New See also:York, 1901) ; Carl Burckhardt, Expedition geologique clans la region Andine, 38°—39° S. lat.; See also:Leo Wehrli, " Cordillere argentino-chilienne, 4o° et 41° S. lat.," Revista del Museo de La Plata (1899); F. P. Moreno, " Explorations in Patagonia," Geogr. Journ. xvi. (1900) ; Hans Steffen, " The Patagonian Cordillera and its Main Rivers, between 41° and 48°S. lat.," Geogr. Journ.(London, 1900) ; See also: Paul See also:Kruger, See also:Die chilenische Renihue Expedition (See also:Berlin, 1900) ; Carl Burckhardt, " Profils geologiques transversaux de la Cordillera argentino-chilienne," Anaies del Museo de La Plata (1900) ; Argentine-Chilian Boundaries in the Cordillera de los Andes, Argentine Evidence (London, 1900); " South America; Outline of its See also:Physical See also:Geography," Geogr. Journ. xvii. (1901); Maps of Cordillera de los Andes, Surveys of Argentine Boundary Commission; L. R. See also:Patron, Cordillera de los Andes (Republica de Chile, Oficina See also:des Limites) See also:Santiago (Chile), 1903 et seq.) ; Sir T. H. Holdich, " The Patagonian Andes," Geogr. Journ. See also:xxiii. (1904).Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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