South America continued: The Andes Mountains

Here is what we know:

Francisco Pizarro picture from the web

~This mountain range was home to the Inca Empire.  Quick background-The Inca Empire was in Peru and ruled most of the
west coast of South America from the 1400s.  The Incas remained in place until the Spanish arrived in 1532. Even though it is believed that the Inca Empire had a population of over 10 million people, the Spanish, along with Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire and took over.  This happened in 1533.  Francisco Pizarro died in Lima, Peru in 1541.

~The Andes Mountains are the backbone of South America.

~This mountain range extends over seven countries.  In alphabetical order, they are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

~The Andes cover a surface of about 2 million square km or 800,000 square miles.

~The estimated height is about 13,000 feet.

~The highest peak is Aconcagua in NW Argentina.

~Most of the Andes are volcanic mountains.

~The Andes have a variety of fauna and flora.  There are 1700 birds species, 600 mammals, 400 species of fish, 600 species of reptiles, and 1000 species of amphibians.  You can also find 30,000 species of plants.

~Have you ever heard of an Andean Flamingo?  It is the rarest Flamingo in the world, and they only hang out at the Andes Mountains in South America.  

Andean Flamingo-image from Wiki

~Check out this Andean Condor.  These New World Vultures are on the near threatened list.  These vultures nest on the mountain ledges and only lay one egg about every other year.

Andean Condor image from Wiki

~Ever heard of a yellow-tailed woolly monkey?  Me neither!  Probably because it is critically endangered and you can only find these rare species of primates in the Peruvian Andes.

Yellow-tailed woolly monkey-image from Wiki

~Another extremely in endangered critter from the Andes is the Golden Viscacha rat.  This is a rare rodent is related to the chinchilla.  They make their homes in large mounds which protects them from flood waters that arise each summer.

Viscacha rat-image and info from PBS

I guess I could go on and on but I will stop here as this is already a lot of info.  A lot of new info.

You can read more at Blue Planet Biomes.
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