Tropical Andes
The Tropical Andes are located in South America following the path of the Andes. They run, mainly, through five countries, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. The land initially was roughly but has decreased to , leaving 25% of the original land. Due to the massive amount of area the landscape is diverse. Diverse landscapes lead to diverse habitats and the ability to provide needed resources for many species. The diverse landscape includes snow-topped mountains down to canyons and valleys. The different vegetation as altitude changes includes tropical rainforests at , cloud forests ranging from , and the highest altitudes of contain grasslands up to snow. The most diverse cloud forests found in Peru and Bolivia covers . Dry forests and woodlands are also found throughout the Tropical Andes. The range is also home to the deepest gorge in Peru at deep and Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable water with an altitude of .
Paso de Los Patos
The Paso de Los Patos "(Passage of the Ducks)" is an Andine mountain pass between Argentina and Chile, used by the main column of the Army of the Andes to cross the Andes in early 1817, in order to liberate Chile from Spain. It is located to the interior of the town of Putaendo, to the north of the city of San Felipe, Valparaíso Region, Chile, and framed by the imposing Valle de Los Patos Sur (Southern Valley of Ducks), SW of the Province of San Juan, Argentina. Other names are used for the same pass: the passages of Llaretas, Ortiz, the Honda and the Valle Hermoso.