Of Mice and Men - Tension in Chapter 3
Andes Fold Mountains
Dimensions
Length of Andes: 7,000 km
Average Height of Andes: 4,000 m
Width of Andes: 500 km
Countries the Andes Covers: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
How were the Andes formed?
The Andes were formed due to the compression, the act of tending to come together from different direction of plate boundary, just off the western coast of the continent of South America. The oceanic crust is being forced against the continental crust which forms the continent of South America. The collision causes it to build up which causes deformation (changing shapes) and uplift of the continental crust forming fold mountains (in this case the Andes). Meanwhile the denser oceanic crust is forced under the continental crust back into the mantle. This process is known as subduction and generates magma, which rises towards the surface forming volcanoes which in turn contribute to mountain building.
Farming
The mountain slopes of the Andes are used for a variety of farming practices. The best land can be found on the valley floors, but the system of the terraces dug into the valley sides and held up by retaining walls has been used to bring the lands on the valley sides into food production. The flat terraces help to hold up water in a region where most crops are grown in the lower areas and include soybeans, rice and cotton. However, the main essential crop of the Andes is the potato, and there are hundreds of different varieties found in the mountains. Most farming is for survival, with the food grown for personal consumption (self-feeding), but there is some commercial farming as well.
Llamas have historically been used a lot in the Andes, as a form of transportation and carrying materials for irrigation and buildings or goods. Alpaca, a relative of the Llama, has been used to produce some of the finest cloth known to man, and is also produced in the Andes mountains. These animals can carry over 25 percent of their
Dimensions
Length of Andes: 7,000 km
Average Height of Andes: 4,000 m
Width of Andes: 500 km
Countries the Andes Covers: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela
How were the Andes formed?
The Andes were formed due to the compression, the act of tending to come together from different direction of plate boundary, just off the western coast of the continent of South America. The oceanic crust is being forced against the continental crust which forms the continent of South America. The collision causes it to build up which causes deformation (changing shapes) and uplift of the continental crust forming fold mountains (in this case the Andes). Meanwhile the denser oceanic crust is forced under the continental crust back into the mantle. This process is known as subduction and generates magma, which rises towards the surface forming volcanoes which in turn contribute to mountain building.
Farming
The mountain slopes of the Andes are used for a variety of farming practices. The best land can be found on the valley floors, but the system of the terraces dug into the valley sides and held up by retaining walls has been used to bring the lands on the valley sides into food production. The flat terraces help to hold up water in a region where most crops are grown in the lower areas and include soybeans, rice and cotton. However, the main essential crop of the Andes is the potato, and there are hundreds of different varieties found in the mountains. Most farming is for survival, with the food grown for personal consumption (self-feeding), but there is some commercial farming as well.
Llamas have historically been used a lot in the Andes, as a form of transportation and carrying materials for irrigation and buildings or goods. Alpaca, a relative of the Llama, has been used to produce some of the finest cloth known to man, and is also produced in the Andes mountains. These animals can carry over 25 percent of their