The Cordillera Mountains are the longest mountain range in the world. If you look at the map, you can see that these mountains stretch for almost 18,000 km.
McKinley (Nic McPhee) McKinley (Cecil Sanders) Airplane view of the Cordillera (Vivis Carvalho) Denali National Park and Preserve Cordillera (Ross Fowler) Ross Fowler Helicopter with the background of the Cordillera (The US Army) Pablo Trincado Denali National Park (Harvey Barrison) View of the Cordillera (Maykol Saavedra) View of the Cordillera (Miguel Vera León) Beautiful view of McKinley (Christoph Strässler) Mount McKinley, Denali National Park (Christoph Strässler) Highest point of the Cordillera (Denali) National Park and Preserve Denali National Park and Preserve Denali National Park and Preserve Carlos Felipe Pardo Cordillera, Andes (Ross Fowler) View of the Cordillera, Chile (Daniel Peppes Gauer) Cordillera (Nacho) Cordillera Blanca, Peru (Mel Patterson) Cordillera Blanca, Peru (Mel Patterson) Cordillera Blanca, Peru (Mel Patterson)
On what continent are they located? The Cordillera are unusual in that they are located on two continents at once. If you look at the map, you can see that these mountains stretch for almost 18,000 kilometers from north to south, along the Pacific coast of the North and South America- from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego island.
The Cordillera are subdivided into two major systems, the Cordillera of North America and the Cordillera of South America, also commonly known as the Andes. In this article, only the Cordillera of North America, stretching from Alaska to southern Mexico, will be described.
Cordillera height - highest point
The highest peak of the Cordilleras in North America is Mount Denali, until recently known as McKinley, whose height is 6190 m. Its coordinates are 63 ° 04′10 ″ north latitude 151 ° 00′26 ″ west longitude.
Mount McKinley, Denali National Park (Christoph Strässler)
Geographic characteristic
The length of the mountain system is almost 9000 km with a width of 800 to 1600 km. At the same time, the Canadian Cordilleras have the smallest width, and the mountains reach the maximum width in the USA. Almost along their entire length, these mountains form 3 belts - eastern, western and inner.
View of the Cordillera (Miguel Vera León)
The Eastern Belt, also known as the Rocky Mountain Belt, forms a series of high mountain ranges that form the watershed that divides the catchment The Pacific in the west and the basins of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans in the east. In addition to the Rocky Mountains themselves, it includes the Brooks Ridge in Alaska, the Richardson Ridge and the Mackenzie Mountains in Canada. mountain system Eastern Sierra Madre in Mexico. The highest point of the belt is Mount Elbert, which is located within the state of Colorado. Its peak has an absolute mark of 4399 meters.
The western belt is represented by folded and volcanic ridges that run parallel to the Pacific coast. It includes the Aleutian, Alaska and Coast Ranges, the Cascade Mountains, the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the Western and Southern Sierra Madre, and the Transverse Volcanic Sierra. Within the Alaska Ridge, there is the highest mountain not only of this belt, but of the whole of North America - Mount Denali (McKinley), whose height is 6190 m.
The inner belt includes a number of plateaus and plateaus located between two other belts. It includes the Fraser Plateau, the Columbia Mountains, the Great Basin Highlands, the Colorado Plateau and the Mexican Highlands.
The three main mountain arcs of the Cordilleras
In Central America and the islands Caribbean The Cordillera split into three main mountain arcs, which are separated by depressions.
Cordillera (Ross Fowler)
Thus, the arc, which is a structural continuation of the Rocky Mountains and the Eastern Sierra Madre, forms the mountains of the islands of Cuba, northern Haiti and Puerto Rico.
The southern Sierra Madre is geologically extended by the mountains of Jamaica, southern Haiti, and in Puerto Rico, they merge with the mountains of the first arc.
The third arc runs from the southern borders of Mexico through all the countries of Central America to the west of Panama. Its continuation is the Andes.
The Cordillera cross all geographic zones of the continent, from the arctic in the north to the subequatorial in the south. During their course, the climate of the area, vegetation and animal world.
Natural conditions change no less strongly when moving from west to east of the mountain system; often climate and vegetation change in this direction much faster than moving from north to south. In addition, as in all high mountains, altitudinal zonation is of great importance here.
Geology
The Cordillera of North America are composed of various geological structures of different ages. The mountains began to form in the Jurassic period, a little earlier than the Andes, the formation of which began only at the end of the Cretaceous period.
Mountain building has not ended to this day, as evidenced by the fairly frequent earthquakes and the presence active volcanoes... Approximately north of the parallel of 45 degrees north latitude, the Quaternary glaciation had a significant impact on the formation of the relief.
Gold, mercury, tungsten, copper, molybdenum and other ores are mined in the Cordilleras. Of non-metallic minerals, there are deposits of oil, coal, etc.
Hydrography
The Cordillera are the source of such large rivers as the Yukon, Mackenzie, Missouri, Columbia, Colorado, Rio Grande and many others.
Denali National Park and Preserve
To the north of the 50th latitude, snow supply of watercourses predominates, and to the south - rain supply. Many mountain rivers have great energy potential. Especially many hydropower plants have been built in the Columbia River Basin.
In the inner regions of the mountain system, there are large closed areas... The unloading of a few watercourses, which are mainly of a temporary nature, is carried out here into salty lakes without drainage, the largest of which is the Great Salt Lake.
Freshwater lakes are also quite numerous: Atlin, Okanagan, Kootenay (Canadian Cordilleras); Utah, Tahoe, Upper Klamath (USA).
Climate
Due to the very great length in the meridional direction, the climate in the Cordillera varies greatly. In Alaska, Canada and the northwestern United States, on the Pacific slopes, the climate is characterized as rather mild and humid.
Denali National Park (Harvey Barrison)
The amount of precipitation on the islands off the coast of Canada and Alaska, as well as on the western slope of the Coast Ranges, exceeds 2000 mm, and in some areas can reach 6000 mm.
The maximum precipitation here falls in the winter, and therefore, most of it falls in the form of snow. Winters are relatively warm and humid, while summers are cool and dry.
Average July temperatures usually range from 13 to 15 degrees, while average January temperatures range from 0 to 4 degrees.
Away from the coast, the climate is very different; it is characterized as continental. On some plateaus, the amount of precipitation does not exceed 400-500 mm. Winters become colder here, while summers, on the contrary, are warmer.
View of the Cordillera (Maykol Saavedra)
In the southwestern United States, the climate is characterized as subtropical. Precipitation here also falls mainly in winter. Their number can reach up to 2000 mm on the western slopes of the Coast Ranges, and up to 1000 mm in the west of the Sierra Nevada.
In the Rocky Mountains, by contrast, eastern elephants receive more rainfall (700-800 mm) than western elephants (300-400 mm). This is due to the fact that air masses reach the eastern slopes from the Atlantic Ocean. Some deep inland basins receive less than 200 mm of precipitation per year.
The most arid deserts are the Mojave and Sonoran, as well as the western part of the Great Basin. In some areas of these deserts, only about 50 mm of precipitation falls.
The climate of the intermontane basins is characterized as sharply continental with very large daily and annual temperature fluctuations. The highest temperature in the world was recorded in the intermontane depression "Death Valley", which was 56.7 degrees, while in winter temperatures here often drop below zero.
The total area of glaciers is over 60,000 square kilometers. The height of the snow line varies from 300-450 meters on the coastal slopes of the mountains in the south and southeast of Alaska to 4500 meters or more in Mexico.
In the Rocky and Cascade Mountains in the United States, the snow line is at an altitude of 2500-3000 meters, and in the Sierra Nevada mountains - up to 4000 meters.
Flora and fauna
The flora of the Cordillera varies greatly not only depending on the height above sea level, as in all other mountains; it also strongly depends on the latitude of a particular area and on its distance from the ocean.
Denali National Park and Preserve
In the north of the mountain system, the slopes of the ranges are covered mainly with coniferous forests.
The inland plateaus, plateaus, and depressions of the United States and northern Mexico are dominated by arid steppes and deserts, due to the effect of rain shadow, which traps moist air masses in high mountains and hardly reaches these areas.
Parts of the California coast and northwestern Mexico are characterized by a stiff-leaved, bushy vegetation known as chaparral.
On the western slopes in southern Mexico and Central America, both evergreen and deciduous rainforests are common. On the eastern slopes and in intermontane basins, the vegetation is much more scarce and is represented by various shrubs, cacti and savannas. The variety of cacti and agaves is especially great, of which there are hundreds of species.
The fauna of mountain forests is quite similar to the fauna of the plain North American taiga. It is home to grizzly bears, foxes, wolves, beavers, wolverines, lynxes, cougars, etc. Of the species characteristic only of mountains, mountain sheep are found. In the steppes and deserts, cougars, coyotes, steppe wolves, hares, and various rodents live. The fauna of the rainforest is represented by various monkeys; one of the predators here is a jaguar.
Great view of McKinley (Christoph Strässler)
National parks in the Cordilleras
In the territory of the Cordillera there are numerous National parks attracting millions of tourists from all over the world. Photos of the local extraordinary landscapes amaze even people who have traveled around the world.
In the western part of the Sierra Nevada mountains is one of the most famous national parks United States - Yosemite, which is famous for high granite cliffs, waterfalls and simply untouched nature.
A little to the south of it is the Sequoia Park, famous, as the name suggests, for its giant sequoias. In the Cascade Mountains is national park Mount Rainier, on the territory of which the eponymous volcano is located. On the Colorado plateau is oldest park USA - The Grand Canyon, which is a canyon of the Colorado River.
), which occupies the west of North America and extends within the boundaries of the United States proper and Alaska, Canada, and Mexico. The total length is more than 7 thous. km(from 19 ° N to 69 ° N). The width of the mountain belt in Alaska reaches 1100-1200 km, in Canada - up to 800 km, on the territory of the USA proper - about 1600 km, in Mexico - up to 1000 km. The southern boundary of the K.S.A. is the tectonic depression of the river valley. Balsas separating the North and Central America.
Orography. In KSA, three longitudinal belts are distinctly expressed — eastern, inner, and western. The eastern belt, or the belt of the Rocky Mountains, is represented by a chain of high massive ridges, for the most part serving as a watershed between the Pacific Ocean basin and the basins Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean. In the east, the belt drops abruptly to the foothill plateaus (Arctic, Great Plains); in the west, it is bounded in places by deep tectonic depressions ("The Moat of the Rocky Mountains") or the valleys of large rivers (Rio Grande), and in some places gradually passes into mountain ranges and plateaus. In Alaska, the Brooks Ridge belongs to the Rocky Mountain Belt; in northwestern Canada, the Richardson Ridge and the Mackenzie Mountains, bordered from the north and south by the through valleys of the Peel and Liard Rivers.
Further south, in Canada and the United States, up to 32 ° N. sh., the actual Rocky Mountains stretch. Between 45 ° N sh. and 32 ° N. sh. the eastern belt reaches its maximum width and is represented by isolated high (over 4000 m), but by small in length ridges and massifs, separated by vast areas of plateaus ("parks"): the Savatch massif, the San Juan mountains, the Front Range, the Uinta mountains. In the section between 32 ° and 26 ° N. sh., cut by the valley of the river. Rio Grande, the belt is indistinct: mountain ranges are separated by sections of plateaus and basins, which in the west merge with the Bolson of the Mexican Highlands, and in the east they merge into the Eduardo Plateau. The southernmost segment of the eastern belt forms the Eastern Sierra Madre (altitude up to 4054 m).
The inner belt of the K.S.A., or the belt of inner plateaus and uplands, is enclosed between the eastern belt and the belt of the Pacific ridges in the west. 1700 m(mountains Kilbak, Kuskokwim, Rey); in Canada, there are numerous high plateaus (Yukon, Stikin, Fraser), mountain ranges and ridges that are not inferior in height to the ridges of the Rocky Mountains (Kassiar-Omineka mountains, 2590 m; Colombian mountains, before 3581 m); within the boundaries of the United States proper and Mexico - alpine massifs in the development of batholiths in Idaho (altitude up to 3857 m), the volcanic plateau Snake and Columbia (average heights up to 1000 m), the Great Basin plateau and northeastern Mexico, as well as the stratal-stepped Colorado plateau and the Mexican Highlands.
The western belt consists of a belt of the Pacific ridges, a belt of intermontane depressions and a belt of coastal chains. The belt of the Pacific ridges, bordering the inner region of the K.S.A. from 3., includes the highest ridges of the mountain system, including the Alaska Ridge with the highest point of the entire continent - the McKinley Peak (6193 m), chain of volcanic Aleutian islands, Aleutian ridge (Iliamna volcano, 3075 m), alpine knot of the St. Elijah massif (Logan, 6050 m), highly dissected Coastal Range (Waddington, 4042 m), forming a characteristic fjord coast along its entire length. On the territory of the USA and Mexico proper, this belt includes the Cascade Mountains with a series of volcanic peaks (Mount Rainier, 4392 m), Sierra Nevada ridge (Whitney, 4418 m), ridges of the California Peninsula (heights up to 3078 m), separated from the inner belt by the depression of the Gulf of California, the Transverse Volcanic Sierra with the Orizaba volcanoes (5700 m), Popocatepetl (5452 m), Nevado de Colima (4265 m). Intermontane longitudinal depressions are represented by both sea bays and straits (Cook Bay, Shelikhov Strait, Georgia, Sebastian-Viskaino Bay) and a series of lowlands and plateaus (Susitna Lowland, Copper River Plateau, Willamette Valley, Great California Valley). The belt of coastal chains, bordering the western edge of the mainland, is the most fragmented part of the mountain structure of the K.S.A. Charlotte, Vancouver, Alexander Archipelago). This belt reaches its highest height in the south of Alaska, in the Chugach mountains (Marquez-Baker, 4016 m).
Geological structure and minerals. KSA are formed by various tectonic elements. In the southern United States, they include the western part of the Precambrian North American Platform (the Colorado Plateau and the eastern ridges of the Rocky Mountains), uplifted by the latest movements, within their limits, where the folded basement (absolute age of about 2.4 billion years) is covered by a horizontal cover of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic. To the west stretch the myo- and eugeosynclinal troughs of the Mesozoids of the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains (Nevadids). In Canada, the Mesozoids are separated from the platform by the Cordillera foredeep, filled with carbonate and salt-bearing formations of the Middle Paleozoic and molasses of the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous, and in Alaska - from the ancient Yukon massif - by the deep Tintin fault. Such faults separate the Mesozoids of Mexico from the Precambrian Central American massif. The formation of the geosynclinal troughs of the Nevadids occurred in the Late Precambrian, and the accumulation of sediments in them continued until the end of the Jurassic. In the east of the Nevada Belt, carbonate (Paleozoic) and terrigenous (Mesozoic) strata myogeosynclines up to 10 km. The Eugeosyncline is composed of volcanic and volcanic-sedimentary strata about 15 km. In the Late Jurassic, the Mesozoids of Canada and the United States underwent folding, and in the Early Cretaceous, granitoids intruded into them. Within the Western Sierra Madre and the California Peninsula, folded and orogenic processes occurred in the Late Cretaceous - Paleocene (laramids), and the intrusion of granites dates back to the Late Cretaceous - Oligocene.
To the west of the Mesozoic on the Alaska Peninsula and in the California and Oregon Coast Ranges, as well as in the south of Central America, the Cenozoic geosynclinal system stretches. It is folded with powerful (up to 25 km) strata of volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Upper Jurassic, Cretaceous and Cenozoic. These areas are characterized by volcanism, high seismicity and intense modern tectonic movements. In the north of the Pacific Ocean, the structures of the geosynclinal include the Aleutian, and in the south, the Central American deep-water trough; the development of the geosyncline is associated with the formation of the deep trough of the Gulf of California.
There are oil deposits in the Cordillera foredeep (Canada) and in young depressions (Alaska, California); in the Mesozoids of the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre - ores of gold, tungsten, copper, molybdenum (see Climax) , polymetals, in the Cenozoic structures of the Coastal Ranges - mercury, as well as coal, etc.
N. A. Bogdanov.
Relief. The eastern belt is characterized by both large vaulted massifs, dissected by river valleys (Brooks Ridge, Mackenzie Mountains, Rocky Mountains of Canada and the Eastern Sierra Madre), and short anticlinal ridges formed in the region of edge platform structures (Rocky Mountains of the USA).
High plateaus (Yukon, Stikin, etc.) are distinguished in the relief of the inner belt, which are a combination of large flat-topped massifs and wide basins, crossed by river valleys; lava plateaus (Fraser, Columbia, Mexican) deeply cut by river canyons; semi-buried highlands (Great Basin), with a folded base, brought to the surface in the form of short numerous ridges surrounded by extensive depressions, as well as deeply dissected plateaus (Colorado plateau, etc.), which are a site of platform structures involved in the Cordillera mountain belt.
The Pacific Ridge Belt is characterized by large anticlinal ridges with outcrops of intrusive rocks in the axial part (Alaska Ridge); close to this type and massive, considerable length ridge-batholiths (Sierra Nevada, Coast Ridge). Another type is volcanic ridges with a folded base, complicated by a series of volcanoes planted on it, including active ones. In the belt of longitudinal depressions, accumulative lowlands (the Great California Valley) are widely developed. For the belt of coastal chains, low, weakly dissected ridges that form rectilinear shores are most characteristic.
In the northern part of K.S.A. (north of 40-49 ° N lat.), Both ancient glacial (troughs, Karas, end-moraine ridges, loess, outwash, and lake plains) and modern nival landforms (kurums , mountain terraces, etc.), confined to the highest levels of mountains (Alaska Range, Rocky Mountains). In areas not exposed to glaciation (inner Alaska), thermokarst and polygonal landforms associated with the distribution of rocks and soils. In the rest of Canada, water-erosion forms predominate: valley dissection in the most humid regions (the Canadian Cordilleras), table forms and canyons in arid regions (Colorado Plateau, Columbia). Desert regions (Great Basin, Mexican Highlands) are characterized by denudation and aeolian forms.
Climate. The northern part of KSA is located in the arctic (Brooks Ridge) and subarctic (most of Alaska) belts, up to 40 ° N lat. sh. - in the temperate zone, to the south - in the subtropical, the California Peninsula and the Mexican Highlands - in the tropical. On the slopes facing the Pacific Ocean, the climate is predominantly mild, oceanic (at the latitude of San Francisco - Mediterranean), in the interior regions - continental. On the Yukon plateau, the average January temperature is about -30 ° С, July 15 ° С. In the Great Basin, in winter there are frosts down to -17 ° C, and in summer temperatures often exceed 40 ° C (an absolute maximum of 57 ° C). In July, the highest temperatures are observed in the intermontane valleys of the South (32 ° C in the lower reaches of the Colorado River), the lowest in the highlands of South Alaska (8 ° C in the Chugach mountains and the St. Elijah massif). Humidification is extremely uneven. In the temperate zone, the extreme west is best of all moistened; in the tropical, the extreme east. The inner plateaus receive the least amount of precipitation. On the southern ridges of Alaska, the annual precipitation is 3000-4000 mm, on the coast of British Columbia - up to 2500 mm, on the inner plateau of the United States, it decreases to 400-200 mm. There is only 50 precipitation in the Mojave Desert mm in year. In the south-east Mexican highlands rainfall increases to 2000 mm. The greatest thickness of snow cover (up to 150 cm and more) is observed in southern Alaska (Chugach, St. Elijah, Wrangel mountains), as well as on the Coastal Range and in the Columbian Mountains of Canada.
Glaciation... Large differences in the latitudinal and altitudinal position of the K.S.A., as well as a sharp difference in the moisture content of the territory, have led to the uneven development of modern glaciation. Lowest (300-450 m) the snow boundary is located on the Pacific slope of the mountains of southern Alaska, in places dropping to ocean level. On the northern slopes of the Chugach and St. Elijah mountains, the snow border is at an altitude of 1800-1900 m, on the Alaska Ridge - from 1350-1500 m(southern slope) up to 2250-2400 m (north slope). The area of modern glaciation here reaches 52 thousand sq. km 2. In the Brooks Ridge and the Mackenzie Mountains, glaciation is developed only at the highest peaks. To the south, the snow border rises to 1500-1800 m in the Coastal Range and up to 2250 m - in the Columbian Mountains of Canada. As a result, the area of glaciation in inner Alaska and the Canadian Cordilleras is only 15 thousand sq. km 2. On the territory of the USA proper, the snow border rises to 2500-3000 m in the Cascade and Rocky Mountains, up to 4000 m more than - in the Sierra Nevada, up to 4500 m and more in Mexico. The area of modern glaciation in the United States is estimated at 0.5-0.6 thousand sq. km 2, in Mexico - 0.011 thous. km 2. All major types of glaciers are represented in K.S.A.: vast ice fields and caps, washed by glaciers (Deponte glacier in the Coastal Range), foothill glaciers, or glaciers at the foot (Malaspina), valley glaciers (Hubbard, length 145 km in the Coast Range), tar and short hanging glaciers, mostly disappearing (Sierra Nevada). Star-shaped glaciers form on the volcanic peaks, sending out numerous glacial streams (there are more than 40 streams on Mount Rainier).
Rivers and lakes... Within the KSA lie the sources of many river systems of the continent: the Yukon, Peace River - Mackenzie, Saskatchewan - Nelson, Missouri - Mississippi, Colorado, Columbia, Fraser. Since the main watershed is the eastern belt of mountains, most of the precipitation that falls within the KSA flows down to the west, into the Pacific Ocean. North of 45-50 ° N. sh. On the Pacific coast, rivers are fed mainly by snow with a pronounced spring flood. In the south, rainfall predominates, with a winter maximum on the Pacific coast and a spring-summer maximum in the interior. In the southern part of the K.S.A., significant territories have no runoff into the ocean and are irrigated mainly by short-term watercourses ending in closed-drainage salt lakes(the largest of them is the Bolshoi Salt Lake). In the north, there are numerous freshwater lakes of glacial-tectonic and dammed origin (Atlin, Kutenay, Okanagan, etc.)
The deepest mountain rivers, having a large dip and being regulated by lakes, have enormous hydropower potential and are widely used for generating electricity and irrigation. On the river Colombia has identified more than 10 sections suitable for the construction of hydroelectric power plants, and some of them have already been used (Grand Coulee, Te Dals, etc.).
Natural areas. Due to the considerable height along the entire length of the K.S.A., the altitudinal zonality is clearly expressed. natural landscapes... At the same time, the strike of the mountain ranges in the direction perpendicular to the main moisture flow determines significant differences between the landscapes of the coastal (Pacific) and interior parts of the territory. The largest changes in landscapes are associated with the latitudinal position of the mountain system, with its transition from the subarctic belt to temperate, subtropical and tropical. There are 4 main natural areas: the Northwest, the Canadian Cordillera, the US Cordillera, and the Mexican Cordillera.
The Northwest Region, or the Cordillera of Alaska, covers most of Alaska and the Yukon Plateau in northwestern Canada. Alpine ridges with powerful glaciation predominate in the south, and plateaus in the rest of the territory. The climate is subarctic, on south coast- moderate. With the exception of the coast of the Gulf of Alaska, permafrost is developed everywhere. The range of altitudinal belts is represented by foothill open woodlands (forest-tundra) in river valleys and mountain tundra in high plateaus. On the western coast, subarctic meadows are developed, on the southern Pacific slopes there are belts of tall coniferous forests of hemlock and thuja (the so-called coastal forest), subalpine woodlands, replaced at the tops by alpine meadows and glaciers. The tundra is inhabited by reindeer, arctic foxes, polar hares, and lemmings. Elk, grizzly bear, wolf, fox and other predators are found in the forests. There are many birds. The bulk of the population and cities are concentrated on the southern coast.
The Canadian Cordilleras are the narrowest part of the mountain belt, including the southeastern coast of Alaska and partly entering the United States (up to 44 ° N lat.). The relief is dominated by high-mountain ranges with a wide development of ancient glacial forms and modern glaciation. The climate is temperate, from humid to arid. The range of vertical belts includes steppes on the bottoms of intermontane valleys, pine forest-steppe on high plateaus, mountain coniferous forests of fir, spruce, red cedar, balsamic pine on the slopes, where podzolic brown forest and mountain forest soils are developed, subalpine coniferous woodlands and alpine mountain meadow and skeletal soils in the summit. The Pacific slopes are occupied by tall forests from Douglas, Sitka spruce, hemlock and thuja, entering here from southern regions Alaska. The mountain forests are home to many different animals: wapiti reindeer, moose, caribou, grizzly bear; there are wolves, foxes, wolverines, lynxes, puma, mountain sheep. From fur-bearing animals there are marten, ermine, mink, nutria, muskrat. The population is concentrated mainly in the south, in seaside towns(Vancouver). The steppe lands of the valleys are cultivated, the forest-steppe plateaus are used as pastures.
The Cordilleras of the United States, or the Southern Cordilleras, correspond to the widest part of the mountain belt and are very diverse natural conditions... High forested ridges, covered with snowfields and glaciers, are directly adjacent here to vast, drainless desert plateaus. The climate is subtropical, Mediterranean on the coast, arid in the interior. On the slopes of high ridges (Front Range, Sierra Nevada), mountain belts are developed. pine forests(American spruce, larch), coniferous subalpine woodlands and alpine meadows. The Low Coast Ranges are covered with mountain pine forests, groves of relict sequoia forests and evergreen stiff-leaved shrubs (chaparral). The western slopes of this part of the Cordillera are rich in forest resources, but in the 19th and especially in the 20th centuries. forests were heavily cut down and suffered due to frequent fires and the area under them was significantly reduced (the Sitka spruce, Douglas and others, which survived in small quantities on the Pacific coast, especially suffered). Vast spaces of the inner plateau are occupied by wormwood and shrub semideserts and deserts, the low ridges are occupied by pine and pine-juniper woodlands. In the lands settled by man, large animals are either destroyed or are on the verge of destruction. Bison are almost completely exterminated, pronghorn antelope is rare. A rich animal world has survived only in reserves (Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, etc.). In semi-desert areas, rodents, snakes, lizards, and scorpions are prevalent. The population is concentrated near the Pacific coast, where there are big cities(Los Angeles, San Francisco). In the river valleys, there are tracts of irrigated land used for subtropical fruit crops. Subtropical woodlands and scrub deserts are used as pastures.
Mexican Cordilleras. Includes the Mexican Highlands and the California Peninsula. The relief is dominated by high plateaus and highlands, in places highly dissected (Western Sierra Madre). High seismicity is characteristic. The climate is tropical, mostly dry. On the windward slopes, low-growing thorny forests (at the foot) and deciduous tropical forests (at the tops) are developed. Shrubby creosote and alpine succulent deserts, cactus-acacia savannas and mountain coniferous-stiff-leaved forests are widespread in the interior. Among animals in deserts and semi-deserts there are puma, pronghorn antelope, meadow wolf, or coyote, many hares, voles, and other rodents. The forests are inhabited by black bears, lynxes and other predators. Monkeys, tapirs, jaguar are found in tropical forests. The majority of the population is concentrated on the Central Mesa plateau, where the main cities of Mexico are located (Mexico City, Guadalajara, San Luis Potosi), and on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico (the ports of Tampico, Veracruz). Large tracts of land in the south are used for plantations of tropical crops and crops.
Lit .: Ignatiev G. M., North America, M., 1965; Relief of the Earth, M., 1967; Vitvitsky GN, Climates of North America, M., 1953; King FB, Geological Development of North America, trans. from English., M., 1961; Bostock, H. S., Physiography of the Canadian Cordillera, Ottawa, 1948; Landscapes of Alaska, Los Ang. 1958; Tamayo J. L., Geografia general de Mexico, 2nd ed., V. 1-4, Mex. 1962; Thornbury W. D., Regional geomorphology of the United States, N. Y., 1965.
A. V. Antipova, G. M. Ignatiev.
Cordillera Is the largest mountain system in the world.
on which continent are the mountains of the Alps, Andes, Cordilleras, Ural, Scandinavian, Himalayas, Apaches
It is located on the west coast of North and South America. That is, it is divided into two approximately equal parts. For this reason, sometimes its southern part, the Andes, is called the longest mountain system (9000 km). This is partly true, since the Andes, as a separate object, really have a large extent.
Description of the Cordillera mountains
The length of the Cordillera is about 18 thousand km. About 9 thousand km for each of its parts - they are almost equal.
But if we talk about the size in general, the northern part is larger - it is wider (up to 1600 km). But the southern one is higher - 6962 meters at the highest point (Mount Aconcagua). In the northern part of the Cordillera, the height reaches 6190 meters (Mount Denali), which is also quite a lot.
In general, in terms of height, this mountain system is among the leaders, although not in the first place.
Since the Cordillera stretch over great distances, they lie in almost all geographic zones.
This means that the conditions here are very diverse. However, something similar is observed along the entire length of the mountains - glaciation. Even in the hottest climatic zones, the mountains have snow caps (due to the relatively great height mountains). The total area of glaciers is 90 thousand km2.
Cordillera peaks
Although the highest points of the mountain system are located at six thousand meters, the average height of the mountains is 3-4 km. Although, the relief of this geological object is very diverse, so the designation of the height is rather arbitrary.
The highest peaks of the mountain system are:
- - Mount Aconcagua ( dormant volcano) - 6962 meters.
- - Mount Denali (McKinley) - 6190 meters.
- - Ojos del Salado ( largest volcano world) - 6891 meters.
- - Monte Pissis - 6792 meters.
- - Llullaillaco ( active volcano) - 6739 meters
- - Tupungato (active volcano) - 6565 meters.
- - Orizaba Volcano - 5700 meters.
- - The system consists of a large number of mountain arcs, which already gives some uniqueness to the Cordilleras.
You can also note the presence of mountain ranges and depressions that form the rise and fall of the relief - this is very interesting.
- - In the Cordillera there is a fairly high volcanic activity.
True, we are not talking about erupting volcanoes.
- - In the mountains there are large reserves of non-ferrous and ferrous metals, as well as oil and brown coal.
- - Thanks to a large number climatic zones, vegetable world The Cordillera is very diverse.
Andes or Andean Cordilleras(Cordillera de los Andes) is the longest and one of the highest mountain systems on Earth, bordering all of South America from the north and west.
The Andes mountain range rises in the west of South America and stretches for 6400 km from north to south.
The Cordillera mountains are the longest mountain system in the world
In Ecuador alone, 18 mountains rise above 4500 meters above sea level. To the west of the Andes is a narrow strip of the Pacific Ocean coast. The tributaries of the Amazon originate on the eastern slopes, main river South America.
It was here that, before the advent of the Spanish conquistadors in the 1530s, the great civilizations of the Chimu and Incas flourished, which only in the 1820s were able to free themselves from the domination of Spain.
Today there are four independent states - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
They are inhabited by descendants of European settlers and Indians such as Aymara and Quechua. Official language of these countries - Spanish.
The area is rich in natural resources and timber, but many people work for very low wages. Corn, sugarcane, bananas, coffee, potatoes and a grain called quinoa are grown here.
Where is it and how to get there
The address: South America, Andean Cordilleras
Andes in South America on the map
GPS coordinates:-20.923594, -69.658586
Cordillera(The Spanish Cordillera, literally mountainous regions), the largest and largest in the world, which is not the same in the world, is a mountain system. The Cordillera mountain system is also one of the highest mountain systems, subordinate only to the Himalayan and mountain systems of Central Asia.
Geography of the Cordillero mountain system
The Cordillera stretch from the Arctic coast to Alaska (66 ° N latitude).
) In northwestern North America along the western coasts of North and South America, most southern shores Tierra del Fuego (56 °) south of South America. Cordillera on the road traveling through a number of countries on both continents: Canada, USA, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile.
The length of the Cordillero mountain range is more than 18,000 kilometers. The highest point is located in South America, on the summit of Mount Aconcagua at an altitude of 6,960 m above sea level, and the highest peak in North America reaches the summit of the Cordillera on Mount McKinley (Alaska), reaching an altitude of 6193 m.The Cordillera form a huge barrier between The Pacific and eastern parts two continents. The Cordillera are an excellent watercourse between two oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the climatic limit between countries on both sides of the mountain system.
The entire mountain system of the Cordillera is divided into two parts, corresponding to regions of two continents: the Cordillera of North America and the Cordillera of South America or the Andes. The entire mountain system consists of several parallel ridges adjacent to the covering of inner tiles and plains (in North America - Yukon, Fraser, Columbia, B.
Basin, Colorado, Mexican; in South Peru and Central America). In North America, three parallel systems are pronounced mountainous areas, one of them (the Rocky Mountains) and extends east of the plateau area, another system, in the mountainous regions, is carried out directly to the west of this area (in the Alaska Range coast of the mountains of Canada, Cascade Mountains, Sierra Nevada, etc.), and a third mountainous system runs along the Pacific coast, partly on coastal islands.
They come to Central America, the Cordillera gradually fall and split into two branches. One branch is located in the east about Antilles, the other crosses the Isthmus of Panama and enters the continent of South America.
The Andes (Cordillera in South America) in the northern and central parts consist of four, and on the other hand, two systems of parallel ribs are separated by a deep longitudinal depression or intermontane plateau.
The highest peaks are the crests of the Cordillera of the central Andes, where the height of individual peaks reaches more than 6700 m (Aconcagua, 6960 m, Hoyos del Salado, 6880 m, Sahama, 6780 m, llullaillaco, 6723 m).
The width of the ridge varies greatly, so in North America the width of the Cordillera ridge reaches 1,600 km, reaching only 900 km per southern continent, which is almost a fifth less.
The main orogenic processes caused by any of the Cordillera began in North America in the Jurassic period, in South America (where most of them assume the structure of the Paleozoic Hercynian packing) - at the end of the Cretaceous period and are closely related to the formation of mountain ranges on other continents (see.
Alpine styling). Formation processes are actively continuing in the Cenozoic. These processes largely determine the main orographic elements.
The Cordillera fold structures are closely associated with the mountains of northeast Asia and Antarctica. After recent observations of the design of the Cordillera, it is still far from complete, confirming this observation, showing quite common and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and intense volcanism, often leading to serious injuries and casualties, both between humans and animals.
The active areas of the Cordillera have more than 80 active volcanoes, the most active are Katmayu, Lassen Peak Colima Antisana, Sangay, San Pedro, Chile volcanoes and others. Quaternary ice, especially north of 44 ° N, plays an important role in the formation of the Cordillera. sh. and south of 40 ° S latitude.
Where are the Cordilleras?
sh. The Cordillera are rich in minerals. Here I extract important deposits of copper (especially rich deposits in Chile), zinc, lead, molybdenum, tungsten, gold, silver, platinum, tin, oil, etc.
The climate of the Cordillera mountain system
Due to the large extent from north to south, the strong decay of the relief and high altitude mountains, the result is an exceptional variety of natural conditions in the Cordillera mountain system.
The Cordillera lie in almost all geographic regions of the world (except for the Antarctic and subantartic belts).
The climate of the Cordillera is very varied and varies greatly depending on the width of the landscape, the elevation and the exposure of the slopes.
The boundaries of the Cordillera are heavily wetted in temperate and lower belts (western slopes) in equatorial regions and subequatorial (possibly eastern trails). The inner plains have a strong continental climate, while the subtropical and tropical zones are extremely arid. Large parts of the plateau, inner depression and reef slopes, especially in tropical strips, are occupied by stages, halves and deserts.
The highly humid border ranges of the mountains are covered with dense forests. In the temperate zones, coniferous forests (in the north) and mixed forests of evergreen beeches and conifers (in the south), closer to the equator, are mixed (deciduous and evergreen) subtropical and tropical forests. On the wet slopes of the reefs of equatorial, subequatorial and subtropical bands, complex spectra of high bands, from gills to permanent snow. The snow border lies in Alaska at an altitude of 600 m above sea level, from 500 to 700 m on Tierra del Fuego, and in Bolivia and southern Peru rises to 6000-6500 m.
In Alaska and southern Chile, glaciers descend to the ocean, while in the hot zone they cover only the highest peaks.
The huge mountain system of the Cordillera consists of two parts - the Cordillera of North America and the Andes (Cordillera of South America). The scale of this mountain range is so great that it occupies the territory of eleven states, such as: USA, Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile. Most are located in the United States. The Cordillera represent a natural divide between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. High seismicity and volcanism are observed.
The North American Cordillera mountain system is elongated along the entire west coast the continent of North America is a ridge of parallel mountain ranges. This mountain range is 18,000 km long. In the United States, it occupies 7000 km. It begins near the Coastal Ranges, the peak is 2400 m. The longest is the Rocky Mountains, 4339 m high (Mount Elbert). The highest peak in the North American section of the Cordillera is Mount McKinley - 6193 meters. The width of the Cordillera reaches 1600 meters in America.
In the Cordilleras of North America, there are three longitudinal belts: eastern, inner, western.
Eastern Belt, or the Belt of the Rocky Mountains, consists of a chain of high massive ridges, for the most part serving as a watershed between the Pacific Ocean basin and the basins of the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean. In the east, the belt is interrupted by a foothill plateau (Arctic, Great Plains). In the west, it is bounded in places by deep faults (the "Moat of the Rocky Mountains") or the valleys of large rivers (Rio Grande). In some places it gradually turns into mountain ranges and plateaus. In Alaska, the Brooks Ridge belongs to the Rocky Mountain Belt, in northwestern Canada - the Richardson Ridge and the Mackenzie Mountains, bordered from the north and south by the through valleys of the Peel and Liard Rivers.
Inner Cordillera Belt, consisting of plateaus and uplands, is located between the eastern belt and the belt of the Pacific ridges in the west. In inner Alaska, it includes very wide tectonic depressions, occupied by river floodplains, and alternating with hilly massifs up to 1500-1700 m high (mountains Kilbak, Kuskokwim, Rey). This includes mountain ranges and ridges that are not inferior in height to the ridges of the Rocky Mountains (Kassiar-Omineka Mountains, 2590 m). Within the boundaries of the United States proper, there are alpine massifs in the state of Idaho (heights up to 3857 m).
Western belt consists of a belt of Pacific ridges, a belt of intermontane lakes and a belt of coastal chains. The Pacific Ridge Belt, which encompasses the interior of the Cordillera, is composed of alpine formations. It includes the Alaska Ridge with the McKinley Peak (6193 m), the chain of volcanic Aleutian Islands, the Aleutian Ridge (Iliamna Volcano, 3075 m), the high-mountain node of the St. In the USA, this belt includes the Cascade Volcanic Mountains (Mount Rainier, 4392 m), ridges: Sierra Nevada (Mount Whitney, 4418 m), the mountains of the California Peninsula (up to 3078 m), the Transverse Volcanic Sierra with the Orizaba volcanoes (5700 m) , Popocatepetl (5452 m), Nevado de Colima (4265 m).
Sea bays and straits (Cook Bay, Shelikhov Straits, Georgia, Sebastian-Vizcaino Bay) alternate with lowlands and plateaus (Susitna Lowland, Copper River Plateau, Willamette Valley, Great California Valley). Coastal chains are composed of low to medium-altitude formations (US Coast Ranges, Sierra Vizcaino in the California Peninsula) and mountainous coastal islands (Kodiak Islands, Queen Charlotte Islands, Vancouver, Alexander Archipelago). This belt reaches its highest height in the south of Alaska, in the Chugach Mountains (Marquez-Baker, 4016 m).
Climate
Since the Cordillera of North America occupy an area stretched for 7000 km, the climate in different zones is different. For example, in the northern part, where the arctic (Brooks Ridge) and subarctic (part of Alaska) pass, glaciation is observed at the tops of 2250 meters. The snow border runs at an altitude of 300-450 meters.
The zones in the immediate vicinity of the Pacific Ocean are distinguished by a mild climate, mostly oceanic (at the latitude of San Francisco - Mediterranean), in the interior regions - continental. On the Yukon plateau, the average winter temperature ranges from -30 ° С, summer - up to 15 ° С. In the Great Basin, in winter there are frosts down to -17 ° C, and in summer temperatures often exceed 40 ° C (an absolute maximum of 57 ° C). Humidity in different areas of the Cordillera depends on the distance from coastline... So, in the west, there is increased humidity and, accordingly, large quantity precipitation. In the direction from the western part to the eastern, in the central part there is less precipitation. To the east, the tropical climate increases humidity. Therefore, the average annual rainfall ranges from 3000-4000 mm in the south of Alaska, on the coast of British Columbia - up to 2500 mm, on the inner plateau of the United States, it decreases to 400-200 mm.
Rivers and lakes
There are many lakes of mountain-glacial and volcanic origin in the Cordilleras. These include the Great Salt Lake, Tahoe. The Missouri Rivers, Yukon, Colorado, Columbia originate in the Cordilleras of North America. Due to the fact that the eastern belt of the mountains is a natural watershed, most of the precipitation that falls within this ridge flows westward into the Pacific Ocean. North of 45-50 ° north latitude on the Pacific coast, rivers are replenished by melting snows and spring floods. The southern part of lakes and rivers subsists on precipitation in the form of rain and snow. The most active replenishment occurs due to snow melting with a winter maximum on the Pacific coast and a spring-summer maximum in the interior. The cordillera of the southern zone do not have a drain into the ocean and are replenished by short-term streams ending in closed-drainage salt lakes (the largest of which is the Great Salt Lake). In the northern part of the Cordillera are freshwater lakes glacial-tectonic and dammed origin (Atlin, Kutenay, Okanagan, etc.).
Mountainous reliefs of rivers with waterfall zones are used to generate electricity. The deepest water sources are used for agricultural purposes, in particular for irrigating fields. Some of the natural sections on the Columbia River are used for the construction of hydroelectric power plants (Grand Coulee, Te-Dals, etc.).
Natural areas
Due to the fact that the Cordillera cross the subarctic, temperate, subtropical and tropical zones, they are divided into 4 main natural regions: the Northwest, the Canadian Cordillera, the US Cordillera, and the Mexican Cordillera.
The Cordilleras of the United States stand out for their large width - 1600 km, therefore they have a wide range climatic conditions, landscape and fauna. High forested ridges, covered with snowfields and glaciers, are directly adjacent here to vast, drainless desert plateaus. The climate is subtropical, Mediterranean on the coast, arid in the interior. On the slopes of high ridges (Front Range, Sierra Nevada), belts of mountain pine forests (American spruce, larch), coniferous subalpine woodlands and alpine meadows are developed. Mountain-pine forests, redwood groves and evergreen stiff-leaved shrubs grow in the low Coast Ridges.
In the west of the Cordillera, many forests grew until the 19th century, but in the 19th and especially in the 20th centuries. the forests were heavily cut down and burned, and the area under them was significantly reduced (the Sitka spruce, Douglas, which survived in small quantities on the Pacific coast, especially suffered). The low zones of the inner plateau are occupied by wormwood and shrub semideserts and deserts, the low ridges are occupied by pine and pine-juniper woodlands.
In places where people live, large animals are either destroyed or are on the verge of destruction. Bison, a rare pronghorn antelope, is preserved only through national programs. A rich animal world can be observed only in reserves (Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, etc.). In semi-desert areas, rodents, snakes, lizards, and scorpions are prevalent. The population is concentrated near the Pacific coast, where large cities are located (Los Angeles, San Francisco). In the river valleys, there are tracts of irrigated land used for subtropical fruit crops. Subtropical woodlands and scrub deserts are used as pastures.
Anyone in the Americas knows where the Cordillera are. These mountains stretch along the western side of the aforementioned continents: from Alaska (northwestern North America) to the island of Tierra del Fuego, which is located near Antarctica. This is the longest Mountain chain in the world. Its length is 18,000 kilometers, and the width of the North American part reaches 1,600 kilometers (the maximum width of the South American part is 900 km). The mountain range is usually divided into two halves: the Cordillera of North America and the Andes.
The Cordillera are some of the highest mountains in the world
The Cordillera are one of the highest mountains in the world. Only the Himalayas, as well as several other mountain systems of the central part of Asia, surpass them in height. Highest point- Mount Aconcagua, whose height is 6962 meters. Aconcagua is located in the South American part of the Cordillera, and the highest peak in the North American part is Mount Denali (Mount McKinley), reaching 6190 m.
The mountain range passes through all climatic zones of America (with the exception of the Antarctic, subantarctic), due to which the climate, as well as the flora and fauna of these mountains, changes greatly if you move from north to south (to a lesser extent from west to east). For example, the snow border in the Cordilleras of Alaska is 600 m, and in Bolivia it is 6500 m.
Minerals
Like any territory where mountains are located, the Cordillera are the richest source of minerals, primarily a variety of ores:
- copper;
- zinc;
- gold;
- iron;
- platinum;
- tin.
The depths of the mountains also contain many other metals, and oil, gas, coal, and even gems(the richest emerald deposits in Colombia and Brazil).
Significance
The influence of these mountains on the formation of culture, traditions, lifestyle of the people of America can hardly be overestimated. In the territory where the Cordillera are located, whole civilizations of the Indians were born, unique in their development and cultural heritage... And on a global scale, the Cordillera mountain range is the watershed between the Pacific basin and the Atlantic Ocean.
In the North American part of the mountains there is a ridge called the Rocky Mountains. This area is one of the most popular areas in the United States for tourism, recreation, mountaineering, skiing and so on. The most famous national parks are located here: Yellowstone (USA), Rocky Mountain (USA), Waterton Lakes (Canada) and others.
