An obligate parasite, or holoparasite, is a parasitic organism that cannot complete its life-cycle without exploiting a suitable host.
Part of the Andes mountain range, Aconcagua is the second highest of the Seven Summits, behind only Mount Everest in Asia. At 22,837 feet (6,961 meters), not only is it the highest mountain in South America, it is the tallest peak in all of the Americas as well as the Southern and Western Hemispheres.
Farther north, the peaks are higher. Aconcagua (22,841 feet; 6,962 m.), the highest peak in the Americas, and one of the Seven Summits stands in Argentina, but is only about 65 miles from Santiago, Chile. The Central Andes form the broadest part of the mountain system.