 The Northern Andes
the Jurassic Period (about 201 to 145 million
 Chimborazo North of the Gulf of Guayaquil
in Ecuador and Colombia, a series of accreted
oceanic terranes (discrete allochthonous
fragments) have developed
that constitute the Baudo, or Coastal,
Mountains and the Cordillera Occidental.
 They were accreted during Cretaceous and
early Cenozoic times.
 Structurally composed of oceanic volcanic arcs
that were amalgamated after each collision by
high-angle, west-verging thrusts,
 the Northern Andes are characterized by the
heavily deformed metamorphic rocks and
ophiolitic suites that developed during those
collisional episodes.
 During mid-Cenozoic times, a continental
magmatic arc was formed between the
eastern and western cordilleras.
 Farther east, the Andes of Venezuela (the
Caribbean Andes) resulted from the collision
of the Caribbean and South
American plates during Cretaceous times.
 That complex setting developed a series of
wrench faults and related basins east
of Bucaramanga (Colombia) and north of
the Orinoco River delta (Venezuela).
 One of those basins, now occupied by Lake
Maracaibo, has the largest accumulation of
hydrocarbon deposits so far discovered in
South America
 The Central Andes
 The Central Andes lie between the Gulfs of
Guayaquil and Penas and
thus encompass southern Ecuador, Peru,
western Bolivia, and northern and
central Argentina and Chile.
 They are characterized by their continental
basement rocks and by an absence of oceanic
and metamorphic rocks.
 The formation of the Central Andes was
determined by subduction processes that
occurred in the absence of major plate
collisions.
 A period of crustal extension prevailed from
years ago) to Early Cretaceous times, when
important volcanic piles and plutonic rocks
were emplaced.
 Back-arc basins developed in the sub-Andean
regions, controlled by extensional faulting that
occurred at about the same time the South
Atlantic was opening.
 The middle of the Cretaceous in the Central
Andes was marked by a change in tectonic
activity—from crustal extension to crustal
compression.
 That change was related to an increase in the
convergence rate between South America and
the adjacent oceanic plate, which initiated the
formation of a series of sub-Andean foreland
basins from Colombia to central Argentina.
 Within those basins are now concentrated
most of the petroleum resources of the
Andean countries.
 Since Cretaceous times the Central Andes have
been characterized by considerable volcanism
along the axis of the principal cordillera.
 Andesites, basalts, and rhyolites have been the
major rock types to result from that activity,
with some granitoids as well.
 Most of the gold and copper mined in Peru,
Bolivia, and Chile comes from those
formations.
 The Southern Andes
 The cordilleras south of the Gulf of
Penas constitute the Southern Andes.
 Those belts are defined by a long linear
batholith (large exposed mass of coarse-
grained igneous rock) that now extends
unbroken to Estados Island in the South
Atlantic.
 Outcrops of Early Cretaceous mafic and
ultramafic rock found south of latitude 50° S
along the axis of the cordillera have been
interpreted as ocean floor of a back-arc
marginal basin.
 Metamorphic rocks of Andean age are
preserved only in the Darwin Cordillera along
the Fuegian Andes of Chile. The eastern sub-
Andean belt is composed of a series of back-
arc and foreland basins, in which sediments
more than five miles thick have accumulated.

 Present geologic setting

 The glaciations that encompass most of

the Pleistocene Epoch (i.e., about 2,600,000 to
11,700 years ago) began in southern South
America as early as the late Miocene
Epoch (i.e., about 9 million years ago), when
ice caps first covered the Patagonian Andes.
Maximum ice expansion was reached about 1
million years ago during the early Pleistocene,
when ice sheets covered the Andes from
Ecuador to Tierra del Fuego. In some areas,
notably Patagonia, ice extended east to the
Atlantic Ocean. Some 12,000 years ago the
glacial ice retreated, and the present
landscape of South America began to take
shape. South America’s contemporary geology
is characterized by continued volcanic and
seismic activity along the Andes and relatively
aseismic conditions to the east
basins.
 Three cordilleras run through Peru and are
known by Peruvians as the Eastern Cordillera;
the Central, or Blanca (“White”), Cordillera,
named for the glaciated summit of Mount
Huascarán,
 the country’s highest peak, which rises to
22,025 feet (6,713 metres); and the Western,
or Negra (“Black”), Cordillera, which has no
snowcapped summits.
 South of Lima, Peru, and extending through
western Bolivia, the Andes branch into two
distinct ranges.
 Between them lies the Altiplano, a vast
complex of high plateaus between about
12,000 and 15,000 feet (3,700 and 4,600
metres) in elevation and as much as 125 miles
(200 km) wide.
 The Altiplano forms a maze of depressions,
hills, and vast plains without equivalent except
in Tibet.
 Water accumulates in closed basins to form
marshes and lakes, the largest of which is Lake
Titicaca on the border of Peru and Bolivia.
 That central region of the Andes has been
dissected by several rivers, all of which have
cut spectacular gorges down the eastern
slopes
 Farther to the south—along the border
between Chile and Argentina—the Andes
form a single but lofty chain with many of the
system’s highest peaks,
 including Mount Aconcagua, which, at 22,831
feet (6,959 metres), is the highest point on
the continent and in the Western Hemisphere;
south of Aconcagua, elevations gradually
diminish.
 In southern Chile part of the cordillera
descends beneath the sea, forming
innumerable islands with steep slopes.
 The Andes have been deeply carved by
glaciers, particularly in the south. Ice masses
still occupy some 1,900 square miles (4,900
square km), constituting a huge ice cap with
long terminal tongues running into piedmont
lakes or into the sea.
 The Andes are studded with
numerous volcanoes that are part of the
Circum-Pacific volcanic chain, often called
the Ring of Fire.
 Earthquakes are frequent.
 Almost every major city has been devastated
at least once by earthquake, even along the
coastal plains, where clear signs of recent
vertical movement are visible.
 The plateaus
 To the north and east, the Guiana and Brazilian
highlands consist of ancient crystalline rocks
greatly worn through prolonged erosion.
 The Guiana Highlands are mostly below
elevations of 1,000 feet (300 metres), with
small rises separated by marshy depressions.
 Occasional dome-shaped
granitic inselbergs (steep-sided residual hills)—
some 2,000 feet (600 metres) in elevation—
surmount the landscape.
 The southern edge rises abruptly to a series of
mountain chains and high tablelands (tepuis), in
which the highest summit is Mount
Roraima (9,094 feet [2,772 metres]).
 Covering an area of about 580,000 square miles
(1,500,000 square km), the Brazilian
Highlands (also called the Brazilian Plateau) rise
to an average elevation of about 3,000 feet
(900 metres) and are crowned by numerous
sierras (ranges).
 Included in that region is Bandeira Peak (9,482
feet [2,890 metres]), one of the highest points
in Brazil.
 The São Francisco River, draining a large basin
to the east, has cut deeply into the highlands.
 In the north the highlands slope gently to the
sea, but in the east they drop abruptly, as much
as 2,600 feet (800 metres) within a few miles.
 Skirting their southern edge, the Serra do
Mar has summits of more than 7,000 feet
(2,100 metres) in elevation.
 The sea has partly invaded the lower sections of
the original coastal ranges and
formed Guanabara Bay, which includes the
harbour of Rio de Janeiro. Nearby are such
 steep-sided rocky peaks as Sugar the great irritation of Portugal.
Loaf (Portuguese: Pão de Açucar; 1,296 feet  After numerous attempts by Manuel to
[395 metres]) and Mount Corcovado (2,310 convince or coerce Magellan into returning
feet [704 metres]), which rise dramatically
failed.
from the sea.
 In the far south, Patagonia constitutes a series
of vast tablelands that rise, terracelike, from
 September 20th. 1519
the Atlantic to the Andes and are covered with
 The commander set forth from the
rounded pebbles and crumbling sandstones.
Guadalquivir, River's mouth with 5
 Geologically recent volcanic eruptions have
spread sheets of basaltic lava over large parts
ships.
of southern Patagonia and have dotted the  The details of this famous Expedition are
sedimentary plateaus with volcanic cones. best left for a few.


 Mid 1521
 but despite Magellan's own death in the
Philippines
 The remnant of his voyage, managed to
return to Spain. This was the first
circumnavigation of the globe naturally
the Mariners had to pass through Portugal's.
Half of the World's to get home
 And they had also taken spices from the
Malacca's islands, which the new king of
Portugal Joao III declared were his by
right determined to avoid war.
 the monarchs of Spain and Portugal agreed
to hold a conference at which the greatest
cosmologists Navigators cartographers and
other educated people would discuss the
division of the world since its Dimensions.
 The Mulocca's by Spain and they even
fought a few small scale battles with
Portuguese. Ships events over at the other
side of the world.
 In the lands Columbus had discovered I'd
now prove to be most important any
expedition to the Spice Islands
 Proved so costly as to consume any
possible profit
 But Don Hermán, Cortés (1485 - 1547 is
expedition to Modern Mexico began to
open up the true wealth of the Americas to
Spain
 Now the Spice Islands were secondary and
Charles would concede them be 1529,
Treaty of Zaragoza settled the issue once
rtugal
 Metamorphic rocks of Andean age are
preserved only in the Darwin Cordillera along
the Fuegian Andes of Chile. The eastern sub-
Andean belt is composed of a series of back-
arc and foreland basins, in which sediments
more than five miles thick have accumulated.
 Present geologic setting
 The Andes Mountains
 The glaciations that encompass most of
the Pleistocene Epoch (i.e., about 2,600,000 to
11,700 years ago) began in southern South
America as early as the late Miocene
Epoch (i.e., about 9 million years ago), when
ice caps first covered the Patagonian Andes.
Maximum ice expansion was reached about 1
million years ago during the early Pleistocene,
when ice sheets covered the Andes from
Ecuador to Tierra del Fuego. In some areas,
notably Patagonia, ice extended east to the
Atlantic Ocean. Some 12,000 years ago the
glacial ice retreated, and the present
landscape of South America began to take
shape. South America’s contemporary geology
is characterized by continued volcanic and
seismic activity along the Andes and relatively
aseismic conditions to the east
 The land Relief
 South America has two major mountain
systems of contrasting nature.
 Bordering the Pacific Ocean to the west, the
geologically young cordilleras of the Andes
extend along the entire continent from north
to south.
 Stretching along the continent’s northern and
eastern sides are the
ancient Guiana and Brazilian highlands, which
are much lower in elevation and slope gently
to the west; farther south are the plateaus
of Patagonia.
 Lowlands—the basins of the Orinoco, Amazon,
and Paraguay-Paraná rivers and the plains of
the Pampas—separate the highlands from one
another
 Taken as a whole, the relief of the continent
shows a great imbalance: the major drainage
divide is far to the west along the crest of the
Andes.
 Thus, rain that falls only 100 miles (160 km)
east of the Pacific may flow to the Atlantic
Ocean, 2,500 miles (4,000 km) away.
 The ranges of the Andes Mountains, about
5,500 miles (8,900 km) long and second only
to the Himalayas in average
elevation, constitute a formidable and
continuous barrier, with many summits
exceeding 20,000 feet (6,100 metres).
 The Venezuelan Andes—the northernmost
range of the system—run parallel to
the Caribbean Sea coast in Venezuela west
of Caracas, before turning to thesouthwest
and entering Colombia.
 In Colombia the Andes—which trend
generally to the north and south—form
three distinct ranges: the
Cordilleras Oriental, Central, and Occidental.
 The valley of the Magdalena River, between
the Oriental and the Central ranges, and the
valley of the Cauca River, between the
Central and the Occidental ranges, are
huge rift valleys formed by faulting rather
than by erosion.
 An aerial view of the Andes in Colombia
shows, within relatively short distances, a
succession of hot lowlands interspersed with
high ranges with snowcapped peaks.
 In Ecuador the Andes form two parallel
cordilleras, one facing the Pacific and the
other descending abruptly eastward toward
the Amazon basin, crowned by towering
peaks.
 Between the ranges lies a series of high