What is Andes?
[[File:Aerial photo of the Andes.jpg|thumb|right|230px|The Andes]] [[File:Cono de Arita, Salta. (Argentina).jpg|thumb|right|230px|Cono de Arita, [[Salta Province|Salta]] ([[Argentina]])]] [[File:Andes - punta arenas.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[Punta Arenas]], [[Chile]]]] [[File:Andes 70.30345W 42.99203S.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Composite satellite image of the southern Andes]] [[File:A lake in the Andes Mountains.jpeg|thumb|right|A lake in the Andes Mountains]] The '''Andes''' are a [[mountain range]] along the western coast of [[South America]]. They stretch over 7,000&nbsp;km / 4,400 miles from the south of [[Argentina]] and [[Chile]] to the north of [[Colombia]]. They are also found in [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]] and [[Ecuador]]. The [[Amazon river]] system has its sources in the eastern flanks of the Andes. The Andes are the longest exposed mountain range of the world, and the second-highest after the [[Himalayas]]. The Andes mountain range is the highest mountain range outside [[Asia]]. [[Aconcagua]], the highest peak, rises to 6,962&nbsp;m (22,841&nbsp;ft) above [[sea level]]. The top of [[Mount Chimborazo]] in the Ecuadorean Andes is the point on the Earth's surface most distant from its center. Mount Chimborazo is an inactive [[volcano]] in [[Ecuador]], which last erupted over a thousand years ago. == Geography == [[File:Aconcagua (aerial).jpg|right|thumb|[[wikt:Aerial|Aerial]] view of [[Aconcagua]]]] [[File:Central Andes Mountains, Salar de Arizaro, Argentina.jpg|thumb|The high plains (3000–5000&nbsp;m) of the Andes Mountains are in the foreground. ''Salar de Arizaro'' (foreground) is the largest of the dry lakes in this view. <br />Near the centre, the two zones, the ''Puna'' and the ''Sierras Pampeanas'', make a striking contrast. The ''Sierras Pampeanas'' mountains are lower and have fewer young volcanoes.]] The Andes has three sections: #The [[south]]ern Andes in Argentina and Chile; #The [[wiktionary:Central|central]] Andes, having the Chilean and Peruvian mountain system and parts of Bolivia; #The [[north