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 .
Flat slab subduction
The Pampean or Chilean flat slab segment is located between 27 degrees S and 33 degrees S, extending ~550 km along the strike of the subduction zone. The Pampean flat slab similarly extends ~700 km inboard from the trench axis. The segment is visually correlated with the Juan Fernandez Ridge, and the highest peak in the Andes, the non-volcanic Aconcagua (6961 m). This area has undergone the same "thick-skinned" deformation, leading to the high mountain peaks.