THE WESTERN CORDILLERAS...

INTRODUCTION

THE WESTERN CORDILLERAS

• The American Cordillera is a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western "backbone" of North America, Central America, South America and Antarctica.It is also the backbone of the volcanic arc that forms the eastern half of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

THE ANDES MOUNTAINS

• The Cordillera continues on through the mountain ranges of Central America in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua etc. and becomes the Andes Mountains of South America. The Andes with their parallel chains and the island chains off the coast of Chile continue to the very tip of South America.

THE GEOGRAPHY

ANDES

• The Andes can be divided into 3 sections: The Southern Andes in Argentina and Chile; The Central Andes in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia The Northern Andes in Venezuela and Colombia.

THE ETYMOLOGY

ETYMOLOGY

• The etymology of the word Andes has been debated. The majority consensus is that it derives from the Quechua word anti, which means "east" as in Antisuyu (Quechua for "east region") ,one of the four regions of the Inca Empire.

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