Southern Andes

…to north these are the Southern Andes, consisting of the Chilean, Fuegian, and Patagonian cordilleras; the Central Andes, including the Peruvian cordilleras; and the Northern Andes, encompassing the Ecuadorian, Colombian, and Venezuelan (or Caribbean) cordilleras.

The Fuegian Andes begin on the mountainous Estados (Staten) Island, the easternmost point of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, reaching an elevation of 3,700 feet. They run to the west through Grande Island, where the highest ridges—including Mounts Darwin, Valdivieso, and

The cordilleras south of the Gulf of Penas constitute the Southern Andes. Those belts are defined by a long linear batholith (large exposed mass of coarse-grained igneous rock) that now extends unbroken to Estados Island in the South Atlantic. Outcrops of Early Cretaceous…