In the southern part of the Cordillera is located. Cordillera: "Great Mountain Ranges

Cordillera North America- the northern part of the Cordillera mountain system, stretching along the Pacific coast of the mainland for nine thousand kilometers, and diverging in width for more than one and a half thousand kilometers. They start on, their southern border is the valley of the Mexican Balsas River, which separates North and Central America, to the south - the mountains of the South Sierra Madre, belonging to the Cordilleras Central America, which pass into the Andes, forming the longest mountain system of the Earth with a length of more than 18 thousand km.
These mountains cross the territory of three countries of North America: the USA (from Alaska to California), Canada and Mexico.
The history of the formation of the Cordilleras of North America is incredibly complex, primarily due to the large area of ​​​​this object and the significant duration of its formation: for example, the age of the rocks of the vast Colorado Plateau and the eastern ridges of the Rocky Mountains is about 2.4 billion years. The process of formation of the Cordilleras of North America is still in its active phase, earthquakes are not uncommon here, and volcanic eruptions also occur.
In the configuration of this part of the Cordillera, three longitudinal mountain belts are clearly visible.
East, he is a belt with the top of Elbert, - a chain of high massive ridges. In the east, it is bounded by a sharp ledge, which is the boundary of the foothill plateaus (Arctic Plateau, Great Plains), and in the west it is bounded by deep tectonic depressions, called the "Moat of the Rocky Mountains", or valleys major rivers like the Rio Grande. The southernmost section of the eastern belt forms the Eastern Sierra Madre, about 4 km high.
The inner belt is enclosed between the eastern belt and the western belt of the Pacific ridges. In Alaska, these are vast tectonic depressions occupied by river valleys and alternating with relatively low mountain ranges, in Canada - numerous high plateaus under 2.5 km high, within the US and Mexico proper - high mountain ranges and volcanic plateaus.
The western (Pacific) belt, which includes the highest ridges, consists of a belt of Pacific ridges, a belt of intermountain depressions, and a belt of coastal chains. The belt of the Pacific ridges includes the Alaska Range with the highest point of the entire mainland - the top of Denali. Part western belt are large mountains - the Cascades, the Sierra Nevada range and the Transverse volcanic Sierra. Most of the peaks of the local mountains are cones of active and extinct volcanoes height of 4 km and above, the most famous are Rainier, Orizaba, Popocatepetl and Nevada de Colima.
In depressions between mountain ranges long time sedimentary rocks accumulated, as a result, huge deposits of various minerals were formed throughout the Cordillera of North America, and metal ores in the thickness of the mountains. There are oil deposits in the Canadian Cis-Cordillera Foredeep and in depressions in Alaska and California, in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre - ores of gold, tungsten, copper, molybdenum, polymetals, in the Coast Ranges - mercury and everywhere - deposits of stone coal.
Glaciers occupy almost 70 thousand km 2, most of them are located in the mountains of Alaska, among them Bering stands out - the largest mountain glacier in North America (some glaciologists believe that the whole world).
In the Cordillera lie the sources and headwaters of many major rivers in North America: Yukon, Saskatchewan, Missouri, Columbia, Colorado, Rio Grande. There are lakes, many are salty, the most famous is Bolshoe Salt.
The Cordillera of North America is the northern part of the Cordillera mountain system, stretching along the western edge of North America and into Central America.
The length of the Cordillera of North America is great, this explains the noticeable difference in landscapes - depending on the latitudinal position of the mountain system.
The natural landscapes of the Cordilleras of North America throughout their length, due to their considerable height, have a pronounced altitudinal zonality, which is largely typical for such large mountainous regions.
The division of the Cordillera zone of North America into four main natural area: Northwestern, Canadian Cordillera, US Cordillera and Mexican Cordillera.
The northwestern (Alaskan Cordillera) occupies most of the American and Canadian Yukon plateaus. Here is the kingdom of high mountain ranges with powerful glaciation, the climate is from arctic to temperate. Vegetation is poor, because everywhere -eternal Frost. On the slopes of the mountains - mountain tundra, and above - glaciers, in the valleys of freezing rivers - forest tundra, on the western coast - warmer - subarctic meadows and coastal coniferous forests appear. lives in the tundra reindeer, arctic fox, arctic hare, lemming. The forest is the habitat of the grizzly bear, wolf, fox. A lot of birds.
People settled only on the coast, where all the cities and towns are located.
The population is engaged in fishing, hunting for fur-bearing animals and the extraction of the most valuable minerals (gold, oil), since the export of others is too expensive.
The Canadian Cordillera, partly entering the territory of the United States, is the narrowest part of the mountain belt. There are many mountain ranges and glaciers, but the climate is milder - temperate, humid. Steppes appear in the river valleys, and thickets of mountain coniferous forests appear on the plateau: fir, spruce, red cedar, balsam pine. The animal world is becoming more diverse, the moose, wolverine, lynx, puma, Mountain sheep, fur animal: marten, ermine, mink, nutria, muskrat.
The local population is the inhabitants of large port cities like Vancouver, as well as farmers: the steppes are plowed up, the forest-steppe plateaus are used as pastures.
The US Cordillera is the widest part of these mountains, so there is more variety natural conditions. High, forested ridges with glaciers are close to vast desert plateaus. The climate is subtropical, and on the coast - Mediterranean, in the interior, where moisture from the ocean no longer gets, it is arid. On the slopes of the Front Range and the Sierra Nevada - mountain pine forests, Coastal ridges - which is lower - are covered with groves of relic sequoia and hard-leaved shrubs - chaparral. But the forests in the west are largely cut down or burned down in forest fires- also through the fault of man.
Where people have settled, large animals are either destroyed or are on the verge of destruction: for example, the bison is almost completely destroyed. Rich animal world preserved only in very large reserves, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks.
The bulk of the population is concentrated along the Pacific coast, where the major cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco are located.
The Mexican Cordillera is the Mexican Highlands and the California Peninsula. The climate is tropical, very dry, vegetation is poor, except for rainforest on the slopes of the mountains. Pronghorn antelope, coyote, monkeys, jaguar live here. Most of population lives in and around Mexico City or in port cities.

general information

Location: Western North America.

Mountain ranges: eastern belt (Brooks, Richardson, Mackenzie, Sawatch, San Juan, Forward, Uinta, Eastern Sierra Madre), inner belt (Kilbuck, Kuskokwim, Rey, Cassiar, Omineka, Columbian, Yukon Plateau, Stikine, Fraser, Snake, Great Basin, Colorado and Mexican Highlands), western (Alaska, Aleutian, Coastal, Sierra Nevada, Transverse Volcanic Sierra, Sierra Vizcaino, St. Elias Massif, Cascade and Chugach Mountains).

Plateaus, uplands and plateaus: Yukon, Fraser, Colombian, Colorado, Mexican.

Administrative affiliation: USA, Canada, Mexico.
Large cities: Mexico City - 8,851,080 people (2010), Los Angeles - 3,928,864 people. (2014), San Francisco - 852,469 people. (2014), Vancouver (Canada) - 2,313,328 people. (2011).
Languages: English, French, Indian dialects.

Ethnic composition: Whites, African Americans, Indigenous peoples.
Religions: Christianity (many branches and directions), Judaism, Islam.

Monetary units: Canadian dollar, US dollar, Mexican peso.

Large rivers (sources and upper reaches): Yukon, Peace, Athabasca, Mackenzie, Saskatchewan, Missouri, Columbia, Colorado, Rio Grande, Fraser.

Large lakes: Great Salt, Tahoe.

Numbers

Length: more than 9000 km.

Maximum Width: in Alaska - 1100-1200 km, in Canada - up to 800 km, on the territory of the United States itself - about 1600 km, in Mexico - up to 1000 km.

highest point: Mount Denali (Pacific belt, 6144 m).

Other peaks: Mount (5951 m), Volcano Orizaba (5700 m), Volcano Popocatepetl (5452 m), Mount Whitney (4418 m), Mount Elbert (4399 m), Volcano Rainier (4392 m), Volcano Nevado de Colima (4265 m), Mount Marques-Baker (4016 m), Mount Waddington (4042 m), Yliamna volcano (3075 m).

Glaciers: area - about 67 thousand km 2.

Climate and weather

In the north - arctic and subarctic, to the south - temperate, in the south - from subtropical to tropical. On the eastern (Pacific) slopes - soft, oceanic to Mediterranean, in the interior - continental.

January average temperature: in the north -30°С, in the south -17°С.
July average temperature: in the north +15°С, in the south up to +30°С.

Average annual rainfall: on the southern ranges Alaska - 3000-4000 mm, on the coast of British Columbia - up to 2500 mm, on the internal plateau of the USA - up to 400-200 mm, in the Mojave Desert - 50 mm per year.

Relative humidity: from 70-80% in the north to 50-60% in the south.

Economy

Minerals: oil, natural gas, coal and brown coal, manganese, gold, silver, tungsten, copper, molybdenum, mercury, uranium, vanadium, limestone, granite, marble.
Industry: mining, metallurgical, heavy and transport engineering, chemical, food.

Agriculture: in the north - reindeer breeding, in temperate zone- cereals and large cattle, in the south - citrus fruits.

Service sector: tourism, transport, trade.

Attractions

■ Natural: national parks Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, Sequoia, Rocky Mountain, Grand Canyon (all - USA), Jasper, Banff, Yoho, Nahanni, Kootenay, Waterton Lakes, Garibaldi Provincial Park (all - Canada).

Curious facts

■ In general, the Cordillera is the longest mountain system the globe located along west coast South and North America. The total length is about 18 thousand km, the average width is about 1000 km. The Cordilleras are located on the territory of 9 states, starting with the USA and Canada in the north and ending with Chile in the extreme south.
■ The world's largest mountain glacier, Bering, is located in the Nugach Mountains in Alaska, its length is 203 km and its area is about 5800 km 2 . The glacier was named after the Russian traveler Vitus Bering (1681-1741). The glacier is only 10 km away from the coast of the Gulf of Alaska. As a result of the global increase in air temperature over the past 100 years, the glacier has shrunk by 12 km, its mass has decreased, which put pressure on the earth's crust and restrained seismic activity. As a result, the number of earthquakes in Alaska has increased dramatically.
■ At the western (Pacific) belt of the Cordilleras of North America salient feature: intermountain longitudinal depressions are not only lowlands like the Great California Valley, but also large sea bays and straits, like Cook Bay and Shelikhov Strait, flooded sea ​​water when the level of the oceans rises.
■ The Cordillera of North America has all the major types of glaciers: large ice fields and caps, flanked glaciers (Depont Glacier in the Coast Range), piedmont or foot glaciers (Malaspina), valley glaciers (Hubbard), cirque and short hanging glaciers, mostly disappearing (Sierra Nevada), and star-shaped glaciers are formed on volcanic peaks, so named because numerous glacial flows depart from them (there are several dozen of them only on Mount Rainier).
■ The Mackenzie Mountains in Canada were named after Alexander Mackenzie (1822-1892), Canada's second prime minister. He carried out a number of important reforms, but his government fell in 1878, when an economic crisis began in Canada, and so severe that, with all his authority, Mackenzie was unable to overcome it.
■ Groves of sequoiadendron, or mammoth trees, on a narrow strip of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, including in the Sequoia National Park, are the most massive trees in the world: each up to 1500 m 2 of wood.
■ In 1799-1867. Mount McKinley ( modern name Denali) was highest point Russian Empire, but in 1867 it was sold to the United States along with all of Alaska.
■ Most of the most famous volcanic eruptions in the United States are associated with volcanoes in the Cascades, including the eruption of Lassen Peak in 1914-1915. and the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.

cordillera

CORDILERA (Spanish: Cordilleras) is the largest mountain system in the world (more than 18 thousand km long), bordering the western outskirts of the continents of the North. and Yuzh. America from 66°C. sh. (Alaska) to 56°S. sh. (Tierra del Fuego). Subdivided into Cordillera North. America and the Cordillera South. America, or the Andes. Most high peaks: all in. America - McKinley (6193 m), in the South. - Aconcagua (6960 m). Many active volcanoes (Katmai, Saint Miguel, Lyayma, etc.). High tectonic activity. The Cordilleras are the climatic boundary, as well as the watershed between the Atlantic and Pacific ca.

Cordillera

(Spanish Cordilleras, literally ≈ mountain ranges), the largest mountain system in the world, stretching along western outskirts Northern and South America, from the arctic shores of Alaska (66╟ N) to the southern shores of Tierra del Fuego (56╟ S). The length is more than 18 thousand km. Located on the territory of Canada, USA, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile. Forms a high barrier between the plains of the eastern parts of the continents and the Pacific coast. For almost its entire length, Canada forms a watershed between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is also a sharply defined climatic boundary between the countries that lie on both sides of the mountain range. Kabul is second only to the Himalayas and the mountain systems of Central Asia in height. The highest peaks of China are: in North America ≈ Mt. McKinley (in Alaska), 6193 m, in South America ≈ Mt. Aconcagua, 6960 m. The entire system of K. is divided into 2 parts - the Cordillera of North America and the Cordillera of South America , or Andes, and consists of numerous parallel ridges fringing a discontinuous belt of internal plateaus and plateaus (in North America - Yukon, Fraser, Colombian, B. Basin, Colorado, Mexican; in South - Peruvian and Central Andean). In North America, 3 are expressed parallel systems mountain ranges, of which one runs eastward from the plateau zone (Rocky Mountains), another runs directly west of this zone (the Alaska Range, the Canadian Coastal Range, the Cascade Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and others), and the third ≈ along the coast Pacific Ocean, partly - on coastal islands. In Central America, K. go down and bifurcate. One of their branches goes through the Antilles, the other through the Isthmus of Panama passes into the territory of South America. Andes in the north and central parts consist of four, and for the rest of the length of two systems of parallel ridges, separated by deep longitudinal depressions or intermountain plateaus.

The highest are the ridges of the middle part of the Andes, where the height of individual peaks reaches more than 6700 m (Aconcagua, 6960 m; Ojos del Salado, 6880 m; Sajama, 6780 m; Lullaillaco, 6723 m). The width of the mountain belt in North America reaches 1600 km, in South ≈ 900 km. The main mountain-building processes that gave rise to rock began in North America in jurassic, in South America (where structures of the Paleozoic Hercynian folding take a large part) ≈ at the end of the Cretaceous and took place in close connection with the formation mountain systems on other continents (see Alpine folding). Mountain-building movements actively continued in the Cenozoic. These movements largely determine the main orographic elements. The folded structures of Kazakhstan are closely connected with the mountain systems of the north-east. Asia and Antarctica. K.'s formation has not yet ended, as evidenced by frequent earthquakes and intense volcanism. There are more than 80 active volcanoes here, of which the most active are Katmai, Lassen Peak, Colima, Antisana, Sangay, San Pedro, and the volcanoes of Chile. ╟ s. sh. and to the south from 40╟ s. sh.

Within China there are significant deposits of copper, zinc, lead, molybdenum, tungsten, gold, silver, platinum, tin, oil, and others. high altitude mountains is an exceptional variety of natural conditions K. This mountain system lies in all geographical zones(except for the Antarctic and Subantarctic). The climate of K. varies greatly depending on the latitude of the area, the height, and the exposure of the slopes. The marginal ranges are abundantly moistened in the temperate and subarctic zones (western slopes) and in the equatorial and subequatorial zones (mainly eastern slopes). The interior plateaus are sharply continental climate, in subtropical and tropical zones are exceptionally dry. Significant parts of the plateaus, internal depressions and slopes of the ridges, mainly in the tropical zones, are occupied by steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. The heavily moistened outlying mountain chains are covered with dense forests. AT temperate zones coniferous forests (in the north) and mixed forests of evergreen beeches and conifers (in the south) are widely developed; closer to the equator, mixed (deciduous-evergreen) subtropical and rainforests. On the wet slopes of the ridges of the equatorial, subequatorial and subtropical belts≈ complex spectra of high belts, from hylae to eternal snows. The snow limit lies in Alaska at an altitude of 600 m, in Tierra del Fuego 500–700 m, in Bolivia and Southern Peru it rises to 6000–6500 m. tops.

G. M. Ignatiev.

Wikipedia

Cordillera

Cordillera, the largest mountain system in the world, stretching along the western outskirts of North and South America, from 66 ° N. sh. (Alaska) to 56°S sh. (Tierra del Fuego).

The entire Cordillera system is divided into 2 parts - the Cordillera of North America and the Cordillera of South America, or the Andes.

Length - more than 18 thousand km, width - up to 1600 km in North America and up to 900 km in South America. It is located in Canada, the USA, Mexico, the states of Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

Almost along its entire length it is a watershed between the basins of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as a pronounced climatic boundary. In height they are second only to the Himalayas and the mountain systems of Central Asia. The highest peaks of the Cordillera: in North America - Mount Denali (McKinley, 6190 m), in South America - Mount Aconcagua (6962 m).

The Cordillera lie in all the geographical zones of America and are distinguished by a wide variety of landscapes and a pronounced altitudinal zonality. The snow limit in Alaska is at an altitude of 600 meters, in Tierra del Fuego - 500-700 meters, in Bolivia and Southern Peru it rises to 6000-6500 meters. In the northwestern Cordillera of North America and in the southeast of the Andes, glaciers descend to ocean level; in the hot zone, they cover only the highest peaks. total area glaciation - about 90 thousand km² (in the Cordillera of North America - 67 thousand km², in the Andes - about 20 thousand km²

Cordillera (disambiguation)

Cordillera:

• Cordillera - mountain range in North and South America
• The Central Cordillera is the largest mountain range in the Philippine archipelago.

Cordillera (Moon)

""" Cordillera """ - concentric lunar mountains surrounding the East Sea on reverse side Moon. From the Earth, only the eastern part of the mountains, located in the southwestern part, can be observed. visible side Moon. The mountains are about 956 km in diameter and are the third, outermost, concentric structure around the Eastern Sea. The inner two concentric structures around the sea form the Ruk Mountains. The height of the mountains above surrounding area about 1250 m. Lake of Autumn adjoins the northeastern part of the mountains, the craters Schluter and Hartwig. The eastern section of the mountains is crossed by the Eichstedt crater. Krasnov, Wright, Shaler craters and the Bouvard valley adjoin the southwestern section.
The Cordillera Mountains owe their origin to an impact event that gave rise to the Eastern Sea. According to one point of view, the mountains represent the outer rim of the sea crater, according to another, the Cordilleras are formed by material ejected during the impact, and the outer rim of the sea forms the Ruk Mountains. The period of formation of the mountains of the Cordillera is not exactly known, presumably refers to the late Imbrian period.

In accordance with the tradition of naming the lunar mountains by the names of the terrestrial mountains, the name of the terrestrial mountains of the Cordillera is used - the mountain system along the western outskirts of North and South America.

Examples of the use of the word cordillera in the literature.

Just on the surface of Venezuela, a huge river loomed in a graceful semi-steep, which, both in the first bend, where it receives the waters of the Apure tributary, and in the second bend, where the Guaviare and Atabapo carry waters into it from Cordillera, could only be called throughout its entire length by the magnificent name Orinoco.

The sculptor conscientiously fashioned miniature Cordillera, Appalachians, Viana Highlands.

Let me remind you that in just a few generations they have carved a road between the ice of Laurasia and Cordillera and penetrated the plain, where the taiga, after the retreat of the glaciers, turned into fertile meadows.

There they boarded a sports plane and rushed to the foothills at the utmost speed. Cordillera where a helicopter was waiting for them on a tiny camouflaged airstrip.

On the first day, its participants met in the Chilean capital of Santiago in a specially built for this purpose Congress Center, located in the aristocratic quarter of the Providencia district, almost at the very foot of the Andean mountains. Cordillera.

Fabienne begins to guess: an unprecedented storm raging over the Andean Cordillera, changed front and moved to the sea.

Soon they scared off hundreds of roe deer and guanacos, similar topics that so furiously fell upon them in the heights Cordillera.

Find out, please, whether Interpol has undertaken any searches in Cordillera?

This piece of land, washed by the raging Caribbean Sea and sending out its terrible tropical jungle above which rises an arrogant ridge Cordillera and is now full of mystery and romance.

Having passed the capital of Araucania, we pass through the Antuco mountain pass through Cordillera, the volcano will remain aloof, in the south.

It was necessary, before setting out on the road, to decide which pass through Cordillera choose, without deviating from the intended course.

Nevertheless, the detachment moved quickly forward, and by six o'clock in the evening, remaining forty miles behind Cordillera only dimly blackened on the horizon, lost in the evening fog.

He described, without missing a single episode, the whole journey from one ocean to another: about crossing Cordillera, about the earthquake, the disappearance of Robert, his abduction by a condor, the shot of Talcava, the attack of the red wolves, the boy's self-sacrifice, the acquaintance with Sergeant Manuel, the flood, the shelter on the ombu, the lightning, the fire, the caimans, the tornado, the night on the Atlantic Ocean.

Enrico began to question the planter about the road to Cordillera and mentioned oil.

A week later, they left San Antonio on the same day for Cordillera three different expeditions.

The Cordilleras are mountains, a huge system of which occupies the western edge of the continent of North America. They stretched for about 7 thousand km. The Cordilleras are mountains characterized by a wide variety of natural conditions. They are characterized by a number of features, and this determines their uniqueness among the rest of the mountain systems of our planet.

General characteristics of the Cordillera

Where are the Cordillera Mountains located? They are predominantly elongated in the submeridional direction. These mountains are formed within five orotectonic belts of different ages. The Cordilleras have in their composition a significant proportion of highlands (2.5-3 thousand or more meters above sea level). They have active volcanism and high seismicity. The large extent of these mountains from north to south has led to the presence here of many spectra of altitudinal zonality. Cordilleras are mountains formed at the junction between lithospheric plates. The border between them almost coincides with the coastline.

Composition of the Cordillera

The third part of the area of ​​the entire continent is occupied by a mountain fold-block system. It has a width of 800-1600 km. It includes mountain plateaus, intermountain basins, ranges, as well as volcanic plateaus and mountains. Young deformations, volcanism, denudations have undergone the Cordillera, which determined their current appearance and disguised many geological structures that appeared earlier. The mountain system is very heterogeneous both in the transverse and in the longitudinal direction.

More about the structure of the Cordillera

The structure of the surface of the mainland, where the mountains of the Cordillera are located, is asymmetrical. They occupy its western part, eastern - low mountains and vast plains. The western part is located at an altitude of about 1700 meters, and the eastern - 200-300 m. 720 meters is the average height of the continent.

The Cordilleras are mountains that include a number of mountain arcs, which are elongated mainly in the direction from the northwest to the southeast. From Mackenzie, Mt. Brooks, the Rocky Mountains consists of the eastern arc. A discontinuous belt formed from internal plateaus and plateaus is located to the west of these ranges. 1-2 thousand meters is their height. The Cordilleras are mountains that include the following plateaus and plateaus: the Yukon Plateau, the Columbian Plateau and the British Columbia Plateau, the Great Basin, the plateaus and the volcanic plateau of the Mexican Highlands (its inner part). For the most part, they represent an alternation of basins, ridges and table flat surfaces.

The highest mountain

The Cordilleras from the western part are marked by a system of the highest ridges. These are the Aleutian Ridge, the Aleutian Islands, the Alaska Ridge. The latter reaches a height of 6193 meters. This is McKinley, shown in the photo above is the most high mountain. Cordillera - a system that also includes in the western part the Cascade Mountains, the Canadian Coast Range, the Western Sierra Madre and the Sierra Nevada, as well as the Transverse Volcanic Sierra located here (5700 meters), etc.

To the west of them, the height decreases. The Cordilleras are mountains that smoothly merge into the flat part of the mainland. It is occupied in the west by either Puget Sound, Cook), or lowlands (California Valley, Willamette River Valley). This coast of the continent is formed by the St. Elijah, Chugach, Kenai, Canadian Island Ranges, and the US Coast Ranges. The chains of the Cordillera to the south of the Mexican highlands bifurcate. One of them deviates to the east, forming the islands of the West Indies and underwater ridges, after which it passes into the Venezuelan Andes. The second half stretches through the Isthmus of Panama and Tehuantepec to the Colombian Andes.

What is the reason for the diversity of the relief of mountains?

It is associated with different ages land areas, as well as with the history of their development. The mainland did not immediately form in its present form. The mountains of the Cordillera in their present form arose thanks to various processes that took place in different time on the continent.

For the Laurentian Upland, marked by the most ancient geological structures, the relief is characterized by leveling surfaces, the formation of which began at the beginning of the Paleozoic. The wavy surface of the modern upland was determined by the different resistance of rocks to denudation, as well as uneven tectonic movement. The lowering of the central part of the territory caused a cover Quaternary glaciation, due to which the depressions of the modern one were formed. In addition, under its influence, the accumulation of water-glacial and moraine sediments occurred, which formed the type of relief (moraine-hilly).

Great and belong to the type of reservoir. Under the influence of denudation processes in various places, depending on the characteristics of the occurrence of various rocks, cuest ridges (Great Lakes), stepped plateaus (Great Plains region), midlands and erosion low mountains (Washita, Ozarks) were formed.

The relief of the Cordilleras themselves is very complex. compression band earth's crust crossed by numerous faults, starting from the bottom of the ocean and ending on land. The mountain building process has not been completed yet. This is evidenced by volcanic eruptions (for example, Popocatepetl and Orizaba), as well as strong earthquakes that occur here from time to time.

Minerals

As you know, many different minerals can be found where there are mountains. The Cordillera is no exception. There are huge reserves of ores of non-ferrous and ferrous metals. From non-metallic, one can distinguish oil, which is located in intermountain troughs. Stocks of brown coal are available in the Rocky Mountains (their internal basins).

Climate

We continue the description of the mountains with the characteristics of the climate. The Cordilleras are in the path of oceanic air masses. Because of this, the influence of the ocean sharply weakens to the east. This climatic feature The Cordillera is reflected in the soil and vegetation cover, the development of modern glaciation, and altitudinal zonation. The elongation from north to south of the mountain ranges predetermines the differences in temperatures in summer and winter. In winter, it ranges from -24 ° С (in the Alaska region) to +24 ° С (Mexico, south of the country). In summer the temperature reaches from +4 to +20 °С.

Precipitation

In the northwest, the most a large number of precipitation. The fact is that this part of the Cordillera is located on the way westerly winds blowing from the Pacific Ocean. The amount of precipitation here is approximately 3000 mm. Tropical latitudes are the least humidified, since oceanic air masses do not reach them. The low amount of precipitation is also due to the cold current passing near the coast. The inner plateaus of the Cordillera are also not very wet. The mountains are located within the temperate, subarctic, tropical and subtropical climatic zones.

Rivers and lakes of the Cordillera

Essential part western rivers continent originates precisely in the Cordillera. Mostly their food is snow and glacial, in the summer there is a flood. These rivers are mountainous, swift. The largest of them are Colorado and Columbia. The lakes of the Cordillera are of glacial or volcanic origin. On the inner plateaus there are saline shallow water bodies. These are the remnants of those that existed here long ago, at the time humid climate, large lakes.

Vegetable world

very diverse vegetable world Cordillera. Coniferous forests with a peculiar appearance are located up to 40 ° N. sh. In terms of species composition, they are very rich. Spruce, cypress, fir, thuja (red cedar) are their typical representatives. Height coniferous trees reaches 80 meters. Between them there is practically no woody undergrowth. However, a variety of shrubs grow here in abundance. There are many mosses and ferns in the ground cover. AT coniferous forests when moving south, sugar pine, white fir, yellow pine begin to come across. evergreen sequoia appears further south. As dryness increases, south of 42 ° N. sh., thickets of bushes are replaced by forests. They are juniper, heather, and their height usually does not exceed two meters. Here you can sometimes find different types evergreen oak. The humidity of the climate in the interior of the Cordillera is decreasing. They are characterized by dry forests, as well as areas of saltwort and wormwood deserts. The mountain slopes that receive rainfall are covered up to a height of 1200 m with evergreen forests.

Animals living in the mountains of the Cordillera

Where the Cordillera mountains are located, one can meet brown bear grizzly - large predator continent of North America. having long black fur, lives in the southwest of this system. It destroys livestock and spoils crops. There are also many lynxes, foxes, wolves. Arthropods, lizards, snakes are often found in the southern regions of the mountains. In addition, the gilatooth lives here - the only legless poisonous lizard. Large animals in places where people live are either destroyed or are extremely rare. Bison and pronghorn (a rare antelope) are only saved through national programs in North America. Only in the reserves one can observe today a rich animal world.

Cordillera
aconcagua
Mountains of North America
Location:	North and South (Andes) Americas
Highest point:	McKinley (6193 m) and Aconcagua (6962 m)
Coordinates:	63°4′10″N 151°0′26″W and 32°39′20″S, 70°00′57″W

Cordillera, the largest mountain system in the world, stretching along the western outskirts of North and South America, from 66 ° N.S. (Alaska) to 56°S sh. (Tierra del Fuego).

The length is more than 18 thousand km, the width is up to 1600 km in North America and up to 900 km in South America. Located in [Canada, USA, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

For almost its entire length, it is a watershed between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as a pronounced climatic boundary. In height they are second only to the Himalayas and the mountain systems of Central Asia. The highest peaks of the Cordillera: in North America - Mount McKinley (6193 m), in South America - Mount Aconcagua (6960 m).

The entire Cordillera system is divided into 2 parts - Cordillera of North America, and the Cordillera of South America, or the Andes.

The main mountain-building processes that resulted in the emergence of the Cordillera began in North America in the Jurassic, in South America at the end of the Cretaceous and took place in close connection with the formation of mountain systems on other continents (Alpine folding). The formation of the Cordillera has not yet ended, as evidenced by frequent earthquakes and intense volcanism (more than 80 active volcanoes). An important role in the formation of the relief of the Cordillera was also played by the Quaternary glaciation, especially north of 44° N. latitude. and south of 40°S.

The Cordilleras lie in all geographic zones (except for the subantarctic and antarctic) and are distinguished by a wide variety of landscapes and a pronounced altitudinal zonality. The snow limit in Alaska is at an altitude of 600 m, in Tierra del Fuego - 500-700 m in Bolivia and South Peru rises to 6000-6500 m. In the northwestern part of the Cordilleras of North America and in the southeast of the Andes, glaciers descend to ocean level in the hot zone they cover only the highest peaks. The total area of ​​glaciation is about 90 thousand km 2 (in the Cordillera of North America - 67 thousand km 2, in the Andes - about 20 tons km 2).

Literature

• Geographical encyclopedic Dictionary, M., 1986.