The Andes is the world's longest mountain range, forming a continuous mountainous chain along the western coast of South America. This chain is over 4,400 miles long and up to 300 miles wide in some parts with an average height of about 4,000 m.
There are two principal Andean ranges, the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Occidental, often separated by smaller chains. The mountains extend over seven countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The highest peak in the Andes is Aconcagua in Argentina which rises to 6,962 m above sea level, whilst Mount Chimborazo in the Ecuadorian Andes is the point on the Earth's surface most distant from the centre because of the equatorial bulge.
