Cordillera the cordilleras in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Mountain ranges of this type have a complex structure, usually the result of folding and faulting accompanied by volcanic activity. In South America the ranges include numerous volcanic peaks. (Though not itself a volcano, Argentina's Mt. Aconcagua, at 22,834 feet (6,960 metres) high, is the highest point in the Western Hemisphere. The Andes cordillera has Ojos del Salado, the highest active volcano in the world, and second highest point in the Western Hemisphere. A number of the volcanoes have been active in historic times. Aside from the volcanic peaks, the crests
Aconcagua The colorful greenish, blueish and grey deposits that can be seen in the Horcones Valley and south of Puente Del Inca, are carbonates, limestones, turbidites and evaporates that filled this basin. The red colored rocks are intrusions, cinder deposits and conglomerates of volcanic origin. In mountaineering terms, Aconcagua is technically an easy mountain if approached from the north, via the normal route. Aconcagua is arguably the highest "non-technical" mountain in the world, since the northern route does not absolutely require ropes, axes, and pins. Although the effects of altitude are severe (atmospheric pressure is 40% of sea-level at the summit),