The Andes and its people

 The Andes is a range of young fold

mountains formed some 65 million years
ago. It is the longest range of Fold
Mountains in the world at 7,000km and
extends the length of South America.
The Andes are about 300km in width and
have an average height of 4,000m.

Farming
 Bolivia – Subsistence farmers grow a
variety of crops on the steep slopes
including potatoes
 The use of terraces creates areas of flat
land on the slopes – the flat areas retain
water and limit the movement of soil
downslope
 Most crops are grown in the lower valleys
 Cash crops such as soybeans, rice and
cotton are grown
 Llamas are used for carrying irrigation
materials and buildings to inhospitable
areas.
 Llamas are also used for meat and milk, and their wool is used in clothes as well as
rugs

Mining
 The Andes has a range of important minerals such as tin, silver, nickel and gold
 The Yanacocha gold mine is the largest in the world and a joint venture between a
Peruvian mining company and a US-based one
 Local water supplies can be contaminated by the treatment process
 The local town of Cajamarca has grown from 30,000 (when the mine was built)
inhabitants to 240,000 in 2005 and brought a lot of jobs
 However, this growth also brings many problems, including a lack of services and an
increased crime rate
Hydroelectric Power (HEP)
 The steep slopes and narrow valleys that
limit farming are an advantage for HEP
 They can be dammed easily
 The steep slopes allow for a rapid flow
of water into rivers from rainfall and
snow melt also increases water flow
 The Yuncan project dams the
Paucartambo and Huachan rivers in
north-east Peru

Tourism
There are many attractions such as Machu Picchu home of the lost Inca tribe as well as the
indigenous wildlife. However, tourism can bring problems such as litter, pollution and soil
erosion on footpaths