High altitude Andes in South America


The higher the mountains and the closer they are to the equator, the more have the natural belts from the foot to the top. In the Andes, near the equator, the moist equatorial forests rise to a height of 1500 m above sea level. Above the equatorial forests are replaced by a belt of mountain forests, where the temperature does not exceed +15 … +20 ° C, and precipitation is up to 3000 mm. Here grow tree-like ferns, bamboos, creepers, cinchona and other trees. Above 3000 4000 m, where cold winds prevail and the temperature drops to +10 ° C. lies the belt of crooked forest of undersized trees and shrubs. On the plateaus high in the mountains are dry dry steppes and semi-deserts, which are called paramos. Drought-resistant turf grasses and cushion-shaped plants predominate in the parasomes. At altitudes over 5000 m, there are perennial snow and glaciers.

The animal world of the Andes is comparatively poor. There are quite common llamas – guanaco, vigon and lama proper, as well as domesticated llama – alpaca, which is bred for the sake of wool and used as a pack animal. Of the large animals there are Andean bear, snow sheep, from rodent chinchilla. They are hunted by cougars, mountain foxes and the largest predatory bird, the condor. The sweep of his wings reaches a sin of meters.


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High altitude Andes in South America