Week 5 - Converging Plate Andes Mountains

This week I decided to visit the Andes Mountains which is located in South America. The mountains span through seven different countries, such as Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. However the southern portion of the Andes is located in Argentina and this is the area  I decided to visit.

Source: https://www.explore-share.com/blog/exploring-andean-heights-cerro-mercedario-expedition/

The Andes were mountains formed from converging plate boundaries. More specifically ocean / continent boundaries. This is where the ocean boundary sinks below the continental crust. The Nazca plate has been subducting the South American plate for about 45 million years and continues to do so today.

Source: https://www.haikudeck.com/plate-tectonics-by-hannah-parmertor-uncategorized-presentation-p0xOuQ6gUq#slide6

Due to the factors of these converging plates I would consider compressional stresses to be a factor. Which causes the deformation that allows for the folds. Essentially the Andes are considered fold mountains. The Andes is also dominantly composed of Andesite which derives its name from these mountains. The andesite is a product of the volcanos which reside in the Andes mountain area.