Rising in the North in Columbia and finishing in Chile and Argentina in the South
Worlds longest mountain range (over 7000km and covering 6 countries)
Convergence of Nazca and S.American plates (Peru-Chile trench) is located to the West of the mountain range
Trench reaches a depth of 8066m below sea level
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Farming
Flat terraces dug into the valley sides held up by retaining walls support food production/ encourage water collection in region of shortage
Most crops grown in lower regions (soya/maize/rice/cotton)
Main staple crop (principal raw material of steady demand) is potato, which many varieties can be grown in the mountains
Most farming is subsistence (personal consumption)
Some commercial farming
Llamas traditionally used as transportation of goods, Alpaca also provide fine cloth
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Mining
Potosi in Bolivia was one of Spain's principle mines and produced lots of silver
There are large deposits of coal, oil and natural gas in the mountains
Other materials include: iron ore, gold, silver, tin, copper, phosphates, nitrates and bauxite (for alluminium)
Yanacocha gold mine in Peru is the largest gold mine in the world, open cast mine, rocks blasted with dynamite and sprayed with toxic cyanide to extract gold (can contaminate water supply)
Nearby town of Cajamarca has grown from 30,000 when the mine started to 240,000 people by 2005
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Power
The deep valley and rivers give perfect conditions for HEP
Narrow valleys are ideal to dam (cuts costs)
Steep relief increases water velocity (generate electricity)
Melted snow fuels the winter provision (reduced?)
Yuncan dam project dams the Puacartambo and Huachon rivers in NE Peru
2009 El Platinal project began construction
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Tourism
Massive industry for Peru
Eco-tourism in the Amazon basin in the East (Madre De Dois river)
Scenic coastline
Skiing and Hiking particularly popular
Inca trail covers 50km of old pathways linking old Inca settlements in the inhospitable mountains (200 trekkers each day, takes 4 days to complete at 'lost city of the Incas' at Machu Picchu)
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