FLUVIAL LANDSCAPE
Most fluvial landscapes (rivers along the Andes) are found within the ranges of Argentina, Chile, and Peru. The fluvial processes within the Andes Mountains are very important to the world as a whole because South America delivers more freshwater runoff to the ocean per km2 land area than any other continent, and much of that water enters the fluvial system from headwaters in the Andes Mountains.(Harden, 1) One particularly interesting fluvial landscape, mainly composed of mountains with rivers and streams in between, is Cuzco, the capital of the Incan Empire.
The Uyucali River merges with the Urubamba River, which runs from Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incan Empire. This river is centered just below the city of Atalaya, giving it great fluvial access.
COASTAL AND KARST LANDSCAPES
There are many caves, which is a characteristic of a karst landscape, throughout the Andes Mountains. One very popular one, located in the Eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador, is the Cueva de los Tayos. To the west of the Andes Mountains, in Peru, there are many beaches, deserts, and river valleys, all characteristics of a coastal landform. In Ecuador, and northern Peru, the Andes are composed of coastal lowlands, with many hill filled areas and delta like plains. The coast is also lined up with many dunes and beaches, portraying all of the coastal aspects of the Andes.
Located at an elevation of about 800 m within thinly-bedded limestone and shale, the principal entrance to Cueva de Los Tayos is within rainforest at the bottom of a dry valley.
GLACIAL LANDSCAPES
71% of the world's tropical glaciers are located in the Andes Mountains in the Peruvian region. As of right now, those glaciers are melting away quickly, a great concern to Peruvians because the glaciers are one of their main water supplies. Just on Tronador, an extinct stratovolcano in the southern Andes, there are 8 glaciers, which are also melting away due to the warming of the troposphere. ANDES MOUNTAINS CURRENT LANDSCAPE
Because of all the different countries and climates that this mountain range runs through, as of right now, the Andes Mountains consists of many different landscapes. Some of the dominating landscapes are glacial, as seen in most of Peru, and on the Tronador volcano, coastal, like in Ecuador where there are many beaches and sand dunes, and tropical marked by the many rainforest surrounding the Andes. The processes that create these various landscapes in the Andes are the different altitudes and climates that vary within each country the Andes crosses. For example, El Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia which is a glacial landscape, is one of very few places in Colombia which has permanent snow, because of its' high altitude.
ANDES MOUNTAINS IN THE FUTURE
1000 years from now I predict that the Andes will have very little glacial landforms. As of right now 22% of the current glaciers in the Andes are all melting away due to the heating of the troposphere. Because of this heating, I also believe that the tropical rainforests in the Andes will begin to dry out, taking away the tropical landforms of the Andes
10,000 years from now I believe that all of the glaciers in the Andes will have melted, leaving nothing but karst landscape behind. I also believe that recent lack of volcanic activity in the Andes will lead to all of the volcanoes becoming extinct. 100,000 years from now, I predict that the Andes mountains will be a desert like barren. This is because of all the glaciers having completely melted away, also the rain forests having dried out will take the humidity in the mountains away adding to the desert like landscape.
WORKS CITED
Harden, Carol P. "Human Impacts on Fluvial Systems in Central Andes." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
